Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
At the last Pocahontas County Board of Education meeting, the board approved retirement for seven employees, leading superintendent Terrence Beam to look at the future of those positions. Beam has said in the past, when there is a retirement, the board office looks at the needs of the school system and decides if a particular position should be posted as is, or changed to better serve the students.
Two retirements that led to some reconfiguration were those of directors Ron Hall and Ruth Bland. Hall is the director of maintenance, school safety and attendance. Bland is director of transportation, special education, preschool and technology.
“We’re losing a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge in their jobs,” Beam said. “We realized – especially with Mrs. Bland’s job – she has so many different responsibilities, you can’t just hire one person to stick in that spot and expect them to perform the way Mrs. Bland has done.”
With that in mind, Beam said the two positions have been changed and will be posted as such – one director of maintenance, school safety and transportation and one director of secondary education.
Several of Bland’s director jobs will be taken on by current staff members, Beam explained. The technology support staff will take over the technology duties; director Lynne Bostic will add special education and preschool to her duties as the elementary education director.
“So we’ll have a directory of elementary education,” Beam said. “We’ll have a director of secondary education. We’ll have maintenance and transportation, and food service and attendance. That will cover all the major areas.”
Julie Shiflet is the director for food service and attendance.
Beam said he is confident the board office can maintain all the duties with the four director positions, but he thinks there might be a need for a fifth secretary.
“We can maintain four directors,” he said. “I am going to ask the board at some point to add a fifth secretary because we had five secretaries just a few years ago.”
Beam explained that with the sensitivity of information involved in special education, he would like a secretary for special education. At one time, Bland did have a special education secretary, but in the last few years, she took on those duties herself.
Along with the positions at the board office, there are several existing and new positions being posted for the five schools.
With RIF – Reduction in Force – and Transfer time coming up, Beam said that there will be no RIFs this year, but he does plan to have a few transfers.
“We will not be RIFing any teachers,” he said. “We have a couple positions that we are going to reorganize, but the people in those positions will have a chance for those jobs. We are adding staff. We’re not taking away staff.”
During transfer “season,” Beam said he meets with the teachers and aides who are in positions he plans to transfer. He also meets with the principals, union representatives and faculty senates to ensure that everyone involved is aware of the changes being made.
“They are told in advance that this is going to occur,” he said. “This is my eighth year in this job [as superintendent] and tenth year as personnel director. I’ve never had a hearing. No one asked for a hearing on being RIFed or transferred because I sit down with them and explain what we’re doing.
“We’re going to have to move people to meet the needs of the students,” he added.
