Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
On Monday, Nov. 13, the New Rockford-Sheyenne School Board hired a pair of new teachers for the following school year.
The first position considered was for secondary science.
The school’s secondary science position was abruptly vacated early this school year when Krystal Caldwell resigned, citing her displeasure that she was assigned to teach middle school students.
The secondary science teacher considered on Monday is Genesis Ang, a native of the Philippines who is currently teaching in North Dakota.
“Ms. Ang is a licensed, highly-qualified secondary science teacher,” states the board’s summary of proposed action. “She has six years of secondary teaching experience in the Philippines and one year of teaching experience in North Dakota.”
NR-S Superintendent Jill Louters and principal Natalie Becker told the board their interview with Ang went very well, and assured them that there wouldn’t be any significant language barrier, saying she was “very articulate.”
Following those assurances, the board unanimously carried a motion to hire Ang.
The financial implication for the district would be $49,000 plus benefits and the yearly cost of her visa, which is approximately $1,000 per year. Ang would start on August 20, 2024.
The next teacher considered by the board was Ellen Lagunzad, another individual with teaching experience in both the Philippines and North Dakota.
“Mrs. Lagunzad is a licensed, highly qualified English Language Arts teacher,” states the board’s summary of proposed action. “She has four years of secondary teaching experience in the Philippines and two years of teaching experience in North Dakota.”
After a brief discussion, the board unanimously approved the contract with Lagunzad to teach language arts.
Unlike the secondary science position, Lagunzad’s hiring to teach secondary language arts does not fill a vacant position, and will instead be an additional position at the school.
Louters and board member Mike Jacobson made the point that finding fully licensed teachers isn’t easy, and recommended taking the opportunity to hire one.
The financial implication to the district for hiring Lagunzad is $46,500 plus benefits, as well as the cost of her $1,400 per year visa.
Both teachers are currently teaching at the Edmore Public School.
Also during the board’s regular meeting, Louters updated the board during her superintendent’s report that the activity bus they purchased during a special meeting on Sept. 22 is due to arrive in two weeks, just as basketball season is scheduled to start.
Before adjourning, the board also finalized a superintendent’s evaluation.
In total there are six categories on which the superintendent is evaluated on, such as board relations, human resource management and community relations.
Based on overall scores, Louters received a satisfactory rating for each category. A roll call vote was then held for each category during which board members could approve the satisfactory rating or cast a vote for unsatisfactory.
Every board member approved the satisfactory ratings for each category aside from Patti Larson, who voted “unsatisfactory” for four of the six categories. Larson was also the only board member to cast a no vote when it came time to approve the overall evaluation as satisfactory, which was ultimately carried.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.
