Edison gets interim principal
Podcast Episode
WCLO's Beth Wheelock reports on the "cultural fit" for the Edison Middle School interim principal.
Other business
The Janesville School Board on Tuesday:
-- Heard that enrollment in the district's 4-year-old preschool program is at 562, which is 31 more than at this time last year. This is the program's second year.
-- Approved a new policy that forbids bullying by students or staff. The policy was approved with a change in the definition of bullying suggested by board member Diedre Richard. The change defines bullying behaviors as acts that occur repeatedly over a period of time.
-- Approved a policy that requires that all threats by students be taken seriously. Board members were told that the policy was suggested when staff asked for guidance after incidents in which elementary students threatened the lives of teachers.
-- Postponed approval of a policy on purchasing. The board asked for revisions after board member Tim Cullen suggested changes, including a provision that would set a minimum cost at which competitive bids would be required.
JANESVILLE — A search for a new Edison Middle School principal failed to produce a suitable candidate, so the school will get an interim principal.
Jim LeMire, who took over as Edison's assistant principal a year ago, will be the interim principal.
The Janesville School Board unanimously approved the appointment at its meeting Tuesday night.
LeMire will be paid $95,495 if he serves as principal the entire year. But officials will renew their search and could find a permanent principal sometime during the school year, director of human services Steve Sperry told the school board.
Sperry was principal of Edison until he was appointed director July 11.
Sperry said 41 people applied for the job. The search process narrowed that to four. But one dropped out after taking a job elsewhere, and another dropped out on the eve of interviews, Sperry said.
Two different "teams" interviewed the candidates. The first team, comprising mostly central-office directors, recommended one of the two. The second team, comprising Edison staff, the Marshall Middle School principal and some central-office administrators, interviewed the remaining candidate and "determined there was not a 'cultural fit' between the candidate and the school," according to a memo from Superintendent Karen Schulte to the board.
The lack of "cultural fit" refers to the educational philosophy and programs at a school, which apparently were not in sync with the final candidate's views.
School board member Bill Sodemann asked if the Edison staff was comfortable with LeMire as principal. Sperry said he had spoken to several staff members who are comfortable with and confident in LeMire.
Schulte told the board that her staff is working to fill the temporary assistant-principal vacancy "or pieces of that."
A middle school assistant principal typically deals mainly with discipline.
"Mr. LeMire has demonstrated a high quality of performance in the recent absence of a principal," Schulte wrote in her memo. "He has the working knowledge needed to perform as an interim. The staff respect and appreciate Mr. LeMire's collaboration with families and community members as he responds to diverse community interests and needs. He acts with integrity, fairness and in an ethical manner."
LeMire was formerly a sixth- and seventh-grade teacher at Janesville's Franklin Middle School.
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