KO Board President Addresses Hiring Rumors

Parents at Thursday’s meeting said they were concerned about a rumor that had started—one that board President Gary Alward said is not true.

parent Kristen Pauchnik told the board there had been a lot of discussion among parent groups about what would happen with the principal's position at the school.

Her concern, and that of several others at the meeting, was that little information has been released about filling the position of principal at Dormont Elementary. Some parents also had heard rumors that a part-time principal would be hired to fill the position.

The position is vacant because Shevchik is continuing to serve as principal at the school until the end of the school year.

“We’re nervous. Parents want to know whether or not that job will be posted. Parents want to know whether there will be a fulltime principal,” Pauchnik said. “It’s going to be hard to fill (Shevchik’s) shoes. We understand. But we feel it’s extremely important to have a fulltime principal and to fill the position as soon as possible.”

Other parents said they were concerned because of the lack of information they had received about the process for filling the position, and that they felt cuts to positions and student services could be detrimental to the district.

“There’s a great deal of speculation in Dormant right now that the board does not plan to replace Mr. Shevchik with a fulltime principal,” said Jill Harvey, president of the Dormont Elementary PFO. “That speculation is rooted in that his position has not been posted.”

Board President Gary Alward addressed the concerns, saying there is no truth to the rumor that a part-time principal would be hired for Dormont Elementary. He said the board had not fully discussed the position, because the district’s current focus is to fill the vacant positions of superintendent and business manager. Finalizing the school district's budget is also crucial before hiring can be done, he said.

“I don’t know where these rumors are coming from, but I can tell you these rumors aren’t true,” Alward said. “When we get all the info and we get all the numbers as far as what we can do, you guys will be the first to know.”

Acting Superintendent Kathy Foster said several positions in the district are or will be vacant due to recent retirements, including three retirements from and two from the high school, which she said the district is on track with.

The district technology coordinator, Kathy Clark, also is retiring and her job description is being reworked to accommodate for new technological needs.

“We’re working on this,” Foster said. “We’ve received applications for some of these positions already.”

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