By Meg Peters
Review Staff Writer
After three more pending candidates are approved for open positions within the Lake Orion Community Schools district, a total of 29 new faces will have been hired to fill teaching roles for the upcoming year.
‘It is an astounding amount of mobility that we didn’t anticipate,? Director of Human Resources Bill Putney said.
The additional positions were created as staff retired or moved on to other opportunities over the summer, he explained, therefore each position is ‘absolutely budgeted for.?
While many of the roles were hired from the outside, some recognizable faces got first dibs.
A total of seven of the 11 teachers laid off in June 2014 have already been rehired, and before the school year even ended last year the district recalled five elementary teachers laid off in June 2013 for vacant elementary positions.
Nineteen new teachers are already on site and the board is looking to approve three additional hires Wednesday.
Fresh faces to the district came as far as Omaha, Nebraska with some from as close as other Oakland County districts to fill vacant positions. Positions include several new kindergarten teachers, a few middle school teachers and several high school support and specialization roles like counseling, social work and special education. Additionally, a media technology position was filled for the high school’s new engineering program, along with a second grade physical education teacher, a high school business teacher, and fourth and fifth grade teachers among other teaching roles.
New teaching positions were in part needed to accommodate new Schools of Choice (SOC) students that enrolled for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Including 54 SOC students who returned from last year, a total of 249 out-of-district students have been placed throughout the district’s kindergarten through eighth grade classes and learning options classes.
By school, that’s 25 for Blanche Sims, 16 for Carpenter, 25 for Orion Oaks, 18 at Paint Creek, 44 at Pine Tree, one at Stadium Drive, 59 for Webber, 13 at Oakview, 14 at Scripps, 27 students at Waldon and seven students for the Learning Options program.
Three pre-kindergarten teachers were also hired for the current school year that do not fall in the teacher contract group of the aforementioned positions.
The Lake Orion Education Association’s (LOEA) three-year teacher contract was ratified for union teachers’representing most of the district’earlier this summer. Lake Orion schools also recently ratified a two-year secretarial agreement and a three-year AFSCME childcare agreement with their American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The human resources department is still in discussion with the other AFSCME group representing transportation, para-educators, food service and staff associates, and are close to securing an agreement with them as well, Putney said.
‘Once we complete the’AFSCME contract negotiations,’we will have’long term agreements in place’with all of our bargaining units which provides both the district and staff with stability and’allows for long term financial and strategic planning,? Superintendent Marion Ginopolis said. ‘Most important is the positive relationships we have with all of our bargaining units that is apparent by the agreeable nature of our recent’negotiations.?
In addition to filling new teacher roles, and ratifying contracts, the human resources department has also shuffled around three administrators.
Kerri Anderson, previously the principal of Carpenter Elementary for the past six years, was promoted as the district’s new Director of Curriculum.
Anderson will be responsible for the bulk of the curriculum department and professional development for teachers and administration, and will report directly to Heidi Mercer, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning. Mercer’s role changed from Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment and Technology with the addition of Anderson to the department.
Adam Weldon, formerly the Assistant Principal at Scripps Middle School, has been named the new principal at Carpenter to fill Anderson’s previous role. The district is presently looking at internal candidates only to fill the assistant principal position at Scripps, which could create another teaching vacancy.
Last but not least, Sarah Budreau, former high school counselor was appointed to the Associate Principal role at the high school.
‘I think the one thing we can say is people are always talking about change,? Putney said. ‘Change is every day now in education. Do I expect that we will have continuous, subtle changes throughout the year, absolutely, it’s just the world we are in.?