VWCS Board OKs administrative reshuffle

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert City Board of Education approved an administrative reorganizational plan submitted by Superintendent Ken Amstutz during a special meeting held Monday afternoon in the S.F. Goedde Building conference room.

The board unanimously approved the plan, which would move Van Wert High School Principal Bill Clifton to the newly created position of district administrative assistant. Under the plan, Lori Bittner, elementary special services coordinator, would take retiring Van Wert Early Childhood Center Principal William Wisher’s place, while also retaining some of her current duties, such as overseeing the district’s Help Me Grow program.

Brett Dorsten, district school psychologist, would take over some of Bittner’s duties, including special education coordinator for the elementary school and special education teacher evaluation, while applications will be sought for a new high school principal.

Amstutz said Clifton’s new position was needed because of the increasing amount administrative oversight needed for programs such as Race to the Top and the expanded testing and teacher evaluation programs mandated by the Ohio Department of Education. Clifton would act as a liaison to the ODE, oversee testing for the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, implementation of the Common Core State Standards and district curriculum changes, as well as coordinate the district’s project-based learning and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs and other district programs.

“I want to make it clear that this is a reshuffling,” Amstutz told the board. “It is not an added position in any way.”

The superintendent noted that an assistant superintendent’s position held by Peg Schilb was not replaced when she left the district, but an administrative reshuffling occurred at that time.

“We restructured at that point, and we are changing again,” Amstutz noted.

The superintendent said the reshuffling would be revenue neutral, since a principal with less seniority than Clifton, who spent two years as assistant VWHS principal under W.W. Grimm and 18 years as principal, would likely be hired for that position.

Amstutz told the board the restructuring basically comes down to replacing Wisher with a new high school principal. He also added that, with a couple of retire-rehire situations possible next month, the district should see a significant decrease in administrative expense.

In addition to approving the administrative restructuring, the board also heard a report on a meeting to discuss the possible consolidation of the Van Wert Athletic Booster Club and the Wrecking Crew organization by Board members R.J. Coleman and Cindy Hurless.

Coleman said a new board would be created for the new entity, while he also talked about the loss of athletic revenues with the end of a contract with PepsiCo, although Hurless said athletic ticket sales were up this year.

“It’s a group of people very committed to the student athletes and … the long-term development of what our facilities would look like, kind of taking it to the next level,” Hurless said.