Will Neveln and Sumner Elementary Schools share a principal next year?.

Tuesday, March 12, 2002

Will Neveln and Sumner Elementary Schools share a principal next year?

The final decision has not been made, but at Monday’s Austin School Board meeting, members of the school board heard concerns of Rhonda Bensen, the parent of a Neveln student, and then offered their own reactions.

Bensen told board members she was concerned that if Neveln and Sumner were to share a principal next year, it would be difficult for students of either school to form a solid relationship with the principal, which could possibly make the principal ineffective.

School board president David Simonson explained "we have a lot of thinking to do about this issue. It’s not a done thing. At this point, we’re just brainstorming."

"We’re looking at all the issues and we’ll get back to you with answers in th very near future," he added.

Board member Bev Nordby explained the district has lost 100 students from last year. Since each student is worth $5,000 to the district, $500,000 has essentially been lost. She said the idea for sharing principals came about because "we’re losing students, so we have to do things a little differently. We have to think outside the box. We’re open to suggestions."

Superintendent Corrine Johnson also explained the government’s new education program "No Child Left Behind." The program will assess schools based on the test scores of the third and fifth graders and, if a school needs to improve it will be labeled as such. If a school is unable to improve after a certain period of time, it will be identified as "in jeopardy."

If a school reaches this point, the district has to allow students to attend another school in the district and it will have four years to improve. If it has not improved after four years, the school will have to close and reopen under a management service.

However, Johnson said, "I don’t think we have to worry about these things. We’re a good school district."

Call Amanda L. Rohde at 434-2214 or e-mail her at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com