RutlandHerald.com - We Are Vermont

OV principal up for top job



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BY Cristina Kumka STAFF WRITER - Published: January 2, 2010

Bethel's Dana Cole-Levesque, the principal at Otter Valley Union High School in Brandon for the past five years, will resign from the post effective June 2010 and will likely take on a new role: superintendent of the four-school Rutland South Supervisory Union starting next summer.

Cole-Levesque announced his resignation at the Otter Valley School Board's finance committee meeting Wednesday night.

During one of the school's tightest budgeting seasons, Cole-Levesque's resignation was presented as part of a list of spending cuts at OVUHS — contributing little more than $7,000 to a total of about $31,000 cut from school administration line items.

The principal's salary of more than $101,000 will be used to reinstate work days and give pay raises to the school's two remaining associate principals, Jim Avery and Nancy Robinson, and incur a new expense beginning next year: a new dean of students to oversee the entire union school operation.

The plan is to have Avery become the OV principal, Robinson the middle school principal, and a new hierarchy of administrators would be formed, comprising the dean, a director of guidance and a coordinator of special education.

The OV School Board has yet to decide if they will hire a dean at $75,682 and what that job description will specifically entail.

The Rutland South School Board will vote on Cole-Levesque's acceptance of its offer of the top administrative post in January, Cole-Levesque said Wednesday.








READER COMMENTS


Dean of Students is a fancy way of saying disciplinarian. A person who has this job spends 95% of their time dealing with 5% of the students. Kick these students out, do away with the Dean position, and use the money to hire classroom teachers that may actually have a positive impact on student learning and annual assessment results.

No thanks necessary. I'm happy to help.
-- Posted by SC Boy on Sun, Jan 3, 2010, 5:45 am EST

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GOOD RIDDANCE TO COLE-LEVESQUE. MATHIS JUMPED SHIP WHEN HE KNEW THE GOING WAS GETTING TO HOT AND NOW ANOTHER RAT THAT HELPED DESTROY OTTER VALLEY IS GONE. THE O.V. BOARD SHOULD HAVE A PRINCIPAL AND ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL A GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT HEAD WHO IS ALSO A COUNSELOR AND THATS IS IT. STOP WASTING HIGH SALARY MONEY ON ADMINISTRATION AND GET QUALITY TEACHERS. STOP FORCING THE BEST STAFF TO LEAVE AND RETIRE. WHENEVER MATHIS WAS CONSIDERED FOR JOBS ELSEWHERE HE NEVER GOT THEM THAT SHOULD HAVE TOLD THE SCHOOL, BOARD SOMETHING BUT THESE TWO ADMINISTRATORS AMONG OTHERS AT OTTER VALLEY ARE GOOD AT SHOVELING BULL AND HAVING IT SWOLLOWED. HOWEVER THE PUBLIC IS NOT SO FOOLISH. YEARS AGO THE BOARD AND ADMINSTRATION CRIED ABOUT THE MILLIONS ON ADDITIONS THAT NEEDED TO BE SPENT FOR A DECLINING ENROLLMENT. NOW THEY STILL WANT TO WASTE TAXPAYER MONEY. WHEN WILL THE PUBLIC WISE UP AND GET RID OF THE DEADWOOD BOARDMEMBERS?????????
-- Posted by jason Hardband on Sat, Jan 2, 2010, 10:44 pm EST

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Maybe they should reconsider some of the bonehead moves they made last year that have directly impacted the quality of education that the students are receiving. We now have Spanish classes with almost 30 students - some who have had Spanish already and others who were forced to take it when the French department was all but eliminated. Their number one concern should be the quality of education and services that are directly available to our children. Of course when half the people on the school board are from out of state and/or send their kids to private schools I think it's time the voters start to evaluate the effectiveness of this board, their motives, and their ability to represent the taxpayers, children, and parents of the people who can really call this community home and have supported our school for more than the last 5 years. I don't understand how another administrator would be necessary when the excuse for cutting so many other services and teachers is declined enrollment. Of course we still have to foot the bill for the overrun from the landscaping that was done and the sewer upgrade that was never completed yet included in the same bond they sold us. Taxpayers wake up!
-- Posted by No Justice In Vermont on Sat, Jan 2, 2010, 6:17 pm EST

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I know what you mean but in theory it won't work because you guys wouldn't pay anybody. But your right things are getting a bit out of control.
-- Posted by Dwayne Johnson on Sat, Jan 2, 2010, 6:03 pm EST

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Here's a novel idea...instead of the schoo; board (with the union help) deciding who gets what, have the taxpayers decide where their hard earned money goes to these over paid admin people...this craziness must stop...our education system in Vermont is so out of control it is sick...shrinking enrollments, more teachers and increased salaries..where does it stop?
-- Posted by Palin is Sweet on Sat, Jan 2, 2010, 11:17 am EST

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Small town economics!
-- Posted by Dwayne Johnson on Sat, Jan 2, 2010, 11:11 am EST

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"The school board has yet to decide if they will hire a dean." So we save money on the new principal being cheaper than the old one, then turn around and spend it on a pay raise for the new principal, the new middle school principal and maybe a new dean.

They're not sure whether they need one, but that money is there to be spent apparently.
-- Posted by Math Curmudgeon on Sat, Jan 2, 2010, 10:47 am EST

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