COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Layoffs in the budget strapped Coldwater School District are starting at the top with several administrative position cutbacks approved last night by the Board of Education. Possible pink slips for teachers could come at a special School Board meeting set for next Monday depending in part on actions recommended at the state funding level this week.
The Board last night moved to eliminate the job of assistant superintendent of schools, a post currently held by Dixie Koenemann, who will be retiring at the end of the current school year. Trustees also approved the layoff of Legg Middle School principal Jamie Mueller. That decision sets into motion a series of administrative changes. Coldwater high school assistant principal Julie Slusher next fall will take over as principal at the middle school. And Krista Searls, principal at the Lincoln Learning Center, will shift over to the high school to become Slusher’s replacement as assistant principal.
Coldwater School Superintendent Dr. Tina Kerr said the changes will save the District an estimated $275,000. Kerr told the Board that obviously they want to keep the cuts the furthest from the classroom as possible. However, according to Kerr, they are still in the process of looking for more reductions and due to timelines, decisions will have to be coming soon since any staff reductions have to meet the criteria of the 60 day notice.
School Board member Clair Dean echoed Kerr’s comments saying their efforts are centered on trying to make sure instruction is the last place to be impacted, specifically at critical levels of development for children. And fellow trustee Jean Milnes said the personnel reductions were made only after everything else that could have been taken out of the budget had already been trimmed.
