A realignment of Mansfield City Schools’ administration is aimed directly at improving student achievement at all levels, Superintendent Brian Garverick said Tuesday night.
Garverick announced the restructuring of two current positions and the creation of two additional ones during the board of education’s monthly meeting at the Raemelton administration building.
“If we are going to accelerate improvement then we need people focused on the work. These are important positions,” Garverick said.
Two of the positions will encompass current ones.
The office of Curriculum Director will become Chief Academic Officer, which Garverick said will involve “much broader functions.”
The position of Personnel Director will be revamped to Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Communication.
“We have over 500 full- and part-time employees. The assistant superintendent’s role will involve a broader scope of responsibilities, including inernal and external communication,” Garverick said.
The two new administrative positions are Director of School Improvement, which Garverick said also will be focused directly on academics, and Campus Director Grades 7-12.
The Campus Director will have authority over all operations of the high school and middle school, including the Career Tech program, and use of the building.
“As a former Senior High principal, I can say this has been a long-needed position,” Garverick said.
Board members Renda Cline, Sheryl Weber, Gary Feagin and Judy Forney voted unanimously to approve posting of the four job descriptions as the first step toward finding qualified applicants. Board member Chris Elswick was absent.
“This goes to accountability. We’re not just adding jobs,” board president Cline said. “We want to be excellent which means we must have checks and balances. This is definitely something we need.”
Forney urged maximum effort to find the best candidates.
“I hope we will do an exhaustive search to fill these positions,” she said.
In other business the board:
-- Heard Garverick report that the district’s pre-kindergarten program, currently housed at the Spanish Immersion School, will relocate to the Springmill Learning Center for 2017-18. Garverick said the move will permit the expansion of Spanish Immersion to grades seven and eight while allowing time to plan for the long-term growth of the pre-kindergarten program.
-- Watched a Power Point presentation by Personnel Director Mark Manley, “Plan for Student Success,” which reinforced Garverick’s commitment to improving student achievement.
-- Heard a report about the Ohio Department of Education’s recent STEM designation for Springmill STEM Elementary by Prinicipal Gabe Costa, STEM coach Meg Strong and Curriculum Director Stephen Rizzo.
-- Approved the list of graduates in Senior High’s Class of 2017, which Garverick said numbers 156.
-- Approved Treasurer Robert Kuehnle’s report, including the five-year financial forecast and a recommendation that school fees be waived for the 2017-18 school year.
The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. on June 20 at Raemelton.