Candace F.

Thursday, December 16, 1999

Candace F. Raskin will become the new Banfield Elementary School principal, when Brenda Saxton leaves the job at the end of the month.

The Austin Board of Education approved both Saxton’s resignation and Raskin’s transfer at a meeting Wednesday.

Saxton, a popular building principal in the Austin Independent School District for the last six years, submitted her resignation because of her husband Kevin’s change of jobs. The Saxton family is relocating to Colorado.

Raskin, currently the director of educational services, requested the transfer to fill the Banfield position.

Only two weeks ago, when Dr. James A. Hess, superintendent of schools, announced a new organizational chart, the director of educational services’ position ranked only behind the superintendent’s in both seniority and authority in the district.

Building principals were under the supervision of Raskin.

Hess said Wednesday, no decision has yet been made to fill the director of educational services position. Four new board members will take office in January and Hess said their input will be needed to make that decision.

Raskin said she thought about requesting a job transfer after it was announced Saxton was leaving and that "It seemed a very good time to do it."

She is presently pursuing a doctoral degree and has homemaker and mother — two children — responsibilities, too.

A Bush Fellowship Program graduate last June, she said, "I’m excited. I miss the kids."

Raskin is eminently experienced for the new job, which, in her case, is a familiar one.

She began her work in the district as High Potential Program coordinator, became administrator at Neveln Elementary School in 1991 and principal there for two school years.

Then, she took over the principal’s duties at Ellis Middle School from 1994-98.

That’s when she was made director of educational services. However, that job was the result of an expansion of responsibilities by then-superintendent Dr. J. Douglas Myers with the school board’s approval.

Neil Hanson, the EMS principal, whom Raskin replaced, was the curriculum principal after leaving his principal’s job at EMS. When Hanson left EMS, the curriculum principal’s position was newly created.

When Hanson retired and was replaced in the curriculum principal’s position by Raskin, the job became the director of educational services position.

Raskin was given a 5-figure pay increase and a private secretary and placed in an office in the administrative building.

In other personnel matters Wednesday, the Austin school board approved the following:

— A certified staff leave of absence request for child care reasons by Lisa K. Hagen, an 8th grade language arts teacher.

— Contracts for non-certified staff Julius Gibson, custodian at Austin High School; Patty Munk, food service helper at Sumner Elementary School; Janet Buck, food service helper at EMS; and Patrick Rasmussen, KSMQ underwriting account executive.