Summer teachers to get raises

The Williston Public School District 1 summer school teachers are getting raises and the middle school principal is also becoming a half-time curriculum and assessment director while someone steps up to help her with principal duties. Vacant positions throughout the district also were filled by the district’s school board during its regular monthly meeting on Thursday.

The board approved paying summer school teachers $25.50 an hour, a raise of more than $10,000 a year. This is considering they haven’t had raises in three years, said Malcolm Pippin of the Finance Committee.

“It is my belief a raise would be appropriate,” Pippin said and the rest of the board agreed. Board member Duane DeMars was absent.

The board is keeping Williston Middle School Principal Marcia Armogost in that position but have it be half time, while she also becomes the curriculum and assessment director half time. Duane Noeske is to assist Armogost in her principal duties.

As curriculum and assessment director, Armogost’s duties include organizing and facilitating testing needs and requirements, assessing and ordering text books and connecting professional development needs to curriculum and instructional needs.

Pam Lambert is to again be the federal programs director in a half-time position for the assistant principal at Wilkinson Elementary. Jeremy Mehlhoff, a sixth-grade teacher at Lewis and Clark Elementary School, is now the assistant principal for all of the elementary schools in the district, while serving as assistant principal at Wilkinson when Lambert is out of the building or working on Title I projects. He’s also to assist other schools when principals are on leave. This opens Mehlhoff’s sixth-grade teacher position, and the board approved advertising for the position.

In addition, the board approved contracts for the following new employees: Emily Cowan and Gracia Hjermstad as English instructors at Williston High School, Matt Liebel as an eighth-grade earth science teacher, Andrew Mock as the high school physical education teacher and middle school seventh-grade health teacher and Hilarie Schlager as a kindergarten teacher at Rickard Elementary.

It also heard from Superintendent Viola LaFontaine that Jon Reames is the high school biology instructor after teaching at the middle school, Sam Angermeier is the learning disabilities teacher at the middle school and Mark Hannig is the seventh-grade global studies teacher.

The board heard there are applicants to be considered for the vacant high school social studies teaching position and another applicant is to be interviewed for the Wilkinson Elementary School kindergarten teacher position.

The Title I reading teacher position for the middle school is to be advertised, as well as the Title I teacher position for Hagan Elementary. Someone may be hired for the aquatics/assistant athletic director position pending a background check, LaFontaine said.

In other personnel news, the board approved a two-year leave of absence request for professional development for Melissa Christensen, a teacher at the Lewis and Clark Elementary School. She plans to work toward a master’s in special education. She’s to notify the school district by March 2011 to return to the district.

The board also approved resignations/retirements for Dorothy Kuester, Title I teacher at Hagan Elementary and Luanna Fisketjon, diversified occupations instructor.