The Red Clay Consolidated School District will begin the 2008-2009 school year with an administration even further streamlined than when it first began a major reorganization two years ago.
Today, the central office has a lean 26 administrators, down from 42 in 2006 – for some, a decisive answer to criticism that the district had become top-heavy with $100,000-per year employees.
The tweaks this year included eliminating four central office positions while creating two others.
Additions, deletions and moves are as follows:
- During the 2007-2008 school year, Dr. Mark Zawislak, Julia Keleher and Amy Gordon (who held the positions of assistant superintendent, director of policy, research, assessment and evaluation, and supervisor of instructional technology, respectively) left the district. Zawislak was later replaced, but Keleher’s and Gordon’s positions remain unfilled.
- Also gone are positions once held by J. Brett Taylor and Dr. Faith Newton (major capital improvements and manager of federal programs, respectively).
- Red Clay also added a director of instruction position, which had been eliminated a few years ago. Last year, Susan Rash was director of curriculum and instruction. Now, the position has been divided and Rash has maintained the director of curriculum piece, while Carolyn Zogby (previously the principal of Stanton Middle School) has become the director of instruction. “There’s just too much work there for one person and one role [for curriculum and instruction],” said Red Clay Superintendent Dr. Robert Andrzejewski. “So, I split them. Dr. Newton’s work folded up in Zogby’s role as director of instruction.”
- Dr. Merv Daugherty was promoted to assistant superintendent of academics. He had been director of secondary education before his assignment to director on special assignment last year.
- Red Clay also added a human resources manager position, promoting Hugh Broomall, who had been principal of Meadowood School to fill the new spot. Broomall’s promotion addressed what a state Financial Recovery Team described as a serious void in the central office when it determined no single person had been in charge of managing human resources at Red Clay as it was falling into financial trouble by hiring staff above what the state would pay for.
A year ago, Red Clay reassigned eight central office administrators and 17 principals and assistant principals as part of $10.1 million in cuts made for the 2008 fiscal year budget, addressing many of the concerns raised by the Financial Recovery team.
