Mike Holthaus was elected as chairman of the Annandale School Board at its organizational meeting Monday, Jan. 22. He replaces Jeannette Rieger-Borer, who chaired the board for six years.
Holthaus said that he was asked about his interest in serving as board chairman after Rieger-Borer indicated her desire to step down.
Although she enjoyed her time as chairwoman, she has decided not to seek re-election to the board in November and thought the time was right for someone else to lead the board.
"I felt that a transition for Mike would be nice before I leave," Rieger-Borer said. "It’s not so much being the chair, but just in general being on the school board that was an amazing experience."
Holthaus was first elected to the board in 2010, re-elected in 2014, and will be up for re-election in November 2018.
He lives in South Haven with his wife Sandy and two sons: Ben, an AHS senior, and Jack, a 2017 AHS graduate. An older daughter, Zoe, is a 2011 AHS graduate.
Holthaus is looking forward to the challenging role of board chairman.
"The challenges facing the board continue to remain the same and include meeting the educational needs of our students in the most effective way with the funds available," he said in a written statement. "The political landscape can make it a challenge to predict what will be allocated for school funding from year to year."
Another challenge Holthaus sees is the balancing of teacher contact and technology, as the delivery methods of education continue to change.
"We as a board want to maximize the student experience and overall results," Holthaus said.
He plans for the board to work closely with Superintendent Tim Prom, who is in his first year in that role.
Rieger-Borer said there is much to learn as a school board member and four years is never enough time to do the position justice. However she highly recommends the experience to others.
"If every parent, and citizen of the district, could experience just a little of the decision-making and intermingling that the school has with community, city and state, they would be far better off in my opinion," she said.
She indicated that her job as chairwoman was made easy by excellent fellow school board members.
"They were members that wanted to work together, with no hidden agendas, working for the betterment of the school district," Rieger-Borer said. "I will miss the people and the positive energy that I always feel from our school district."
The purpose of the organizational meeting is to elect officers, make committee assignments, and select official legal, financial and other critical contracted services for the new calendar year.
Besides Holthaus, other officers elected were: Katie Jones, vice-chairperson; Jon Scheer, clerk; and Paul Zabinski, treasurer.
AHS principal search
Prom discussed with the board a timeline for the hiring of a high school principal to replace Scot Kerbaugh, who is retiring at the end of the school year.
The district has been gathering information from the high school staff and the district administration.
"We want a clear understanding about what we are looking for in our next AHS principal," Prom said.
The principal position is scheduled to be posted Feb. 5 and close Feb. 27.
The first round of interviews will be conducted Monday and Tuesday, March 5 and 6. The final round of interviews will be held Tuesday or Wednesday, March 13 or 14.
Final approval of the new principal is expected to occur at the Monday, Mar. 26, school board meeting.
"We will strongly recommend the new candidate come in for two to three days in the spring to spend time getting to know students and staff while school is still in session," Prom said.
The interview committees will consist of the superintendent, school board members, middle school or elementary principal, high school counselor, social worker, dean of students, staff members in various areas, and community and student representatives.
Staffing proposal
Prom presented a preliminary staffing proposal for grades 1-6 for the 2018-19 school year.
The proposal shows first grade as possibly increasing by one section next year and sixth grade likely decreasing by one section.
This year’s first grade had 127 students. Next year it is projected at 147, which is the number of kindergarten students this year. This could mean an increase from six sections to seven.
The sixth grade class this year had 172 students, but next year’s sixth grade (this year’s fifth) is estimated at only 144. This may mean a decrease in sections from six to five.
The district estimates that students per section in each grade level will be: 24.5 in grade one (if they do not add a section); 21.2 for grade two; 24.8 for grade three; 25.2 for grade four; 25.8 for grade five; and 28.8 for grade six (if they take away a section), or 24 if it remains six.
The number of kindergarten sections was seven this year.
"We won’t have good numbers until after Kindergarten Round-up," Prom said. "We should have better estimates at the next school board meeting."
Kindergarden Round-up is Thursday, Feb. 15.
Other matters
The school board also:
■ Approved a labor agreement between the school district and the Annandale Administrative Assistant Association.
The administrative assistants received the same wage increase as other groups in the school district: 2.8 percent the first year and 2.2 percent the second.
The two-year contract dates back to July 1, 2017 and runs through June 30, 2019.
■ Approved the contract of Rick Pullen, the district’s business manager. Compensation for Pullen includes an annual salary of $108,834 for the 2017-18 school year and $111,229 for 2018-19.
■ Approved the district calendar, which calls for 173 student days next year, with the first day being Monday, Aug. 27. The last day for students will be Friday, May 24. 2019.
Holidays for students and staff include Labor Day, Sept. 3; President’s Day, Feb. 18; and Good Friday, April 19.
Vacations in the 2018-19 school year include: fall vacation Oct. 19-20; Thanksgiving vacation Nov. 22-23; Christmas vacation, Monday, Dec. 24 to Tuesday, Jan 1; spring vacation, Monday, March 18 to Friday, March 22.
Prom indicated the date for AHS graduation in 2019 had not been determined yet.
■ Approved the per diem for board members. They are paid $63 for each regular meeting and $124 for meetings in excess of four hours.
Up next
The next monthly school board meeting is at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26, at the Annandale Elementary Community Room.