School board split on hiring

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale Board of School Trustees was split on personnel issues Monday night.

Initially, board member David Brinkman expressed reluctance to vote on all the new hires presented at the monthly board meeting because of a lack of information.

"I've only heard about one person we're getting ready to employ," Brinkman said. "I've been on the board five or six years and we've always had executive sessions to discuss all the personnel we'd be voting on. Then, within the last two months, we went to 7 p.m. and I voted last month without enough information."

Board secretary Tony Hacker also said there needed to be an executive session to discuss all the new hires. Superintendent Carrie Milner hiring has generally been an administrative decision.

The first vote on personnel was a 3-3 tie, with Brinkman, Hacker and Bobbi Nees opposed and Donna Fidler, James Sharp and Pamelia Hepfer voting to proceed with all personnel items.

Linda Mann was not at the meeting.

Eventually, all the new hires except for a part-time custodian and a part-time cafeteria position were approved. The two positions and the lone termination were delayed to make time for an executive session to review the positions. Delaying those items allowed the measure to pass.

Those hires will likely continue on a probationary basis until the board votes definitively.

J.J. Wade, the new athletic director, reported on a mandatory study table program for athletes with failing grades, more efficient busing schedules and a new, part-time athletic trainer, Danielle Jena.

"She comes every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., which is really a perfect time of the week," Wade said. "She'll also be at every varsity football game."

Wade also discussed uniform cycling, which involves passing uniforms down from varsity to junior varsity as they wear, and staggering when uniforms are purchased.

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