Chinn has been serving as the high school’s counselor. After agreeing June 16 that they would not need to have any regular meetings in July, the Meeker Board of Education (BOE) announced Monday they would be having a “special” regular meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Meeker School District Administration Building board room. This will be the first meeting of the board with Selle in charge.
Selle will ask the board to approve his recommendations of Chinn as the interim high school principal and two new elementary school teachers.
Athletic Director Klark Kindler also expects Selle to make at least one coaching recommendation, he said.
In addition, the board needs to choose an “owner’s representative” for the football field and track rehabilitation project for which the district’s partner, the Eastern Rio Blanco Metropolitan Recreation and Park District, has now received matching funds from Great Outdoors Colorado.
Selle wrote that while he is asking Chinn to serve an interim role, it “certainly may turn into a permanent solution pending (Chinn’s) completion of her principal licensure program, her job performance and whether or not she desires to continue in the role.
“She has passed her principal’s PLACE test and is currently enrolled in a principal licensure program,” he noted.
The decision will not be final until the board takes action next week.
Selle also wrote that the district had three main options. One would have been to reopen applications for the position and repeat the entire process the district went through in April and May. This is not a good option, Selle wrote, as it would likely take about a month to complete and therefore there wouldn’t be a choice in place until late July or early August. Or even later if the choice had to relocate, which would make it rough getting off on the new school year.
A second option, Selle noted, was to revisit the other two individuals who had been interviewed when Kelly Boren from Carson Middle School was selected. Both of those candidates have made commitments to other school districts.
The third option was to move Chinn into the position.
Selle wrote that in the short time he has been associated with the district, it was apparent “one of the greatest needs for the high school right now is consistent and stable leadership.”
“I believe (Chinn) has the necessary leadership ability to be a principal and commitment to the district to fill the need for stability. Thus, this option seemed the best.”
At the June 16 meeting, the board approved a budget for the 2015-16 school year of $6,354,130, including a projected deficit of $749,697. Several factors were expected to reduce that deficit by more than $300,000.
The board, however, as was reported by board President Bill deVergie, also received a letter from County Attorney Kent Borchard, indicating that more than $127,000 would be charged against the district for abatement of general and bond tax levies by the county.
On the positive side of the ledger, Borchard also wrote that Encana Corp. was going to owe the county more than expected, which would soften the increased deficit. All these final figures are uncertain at this time.
It was also reported last month that Dilly Gutierrez was approved by the board as the new English Language Learner, Title III, paraprofessional for the district. Gutierrez is a native of Venezuela, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with a major in telecommunications from the University of Venezuela Armed Forces in 1999. She worked in telecommunications in Venezuela for four years before moving to Canada in 2005.
In 2010, Dilly and her family moved to Meeker, where her husband, Enrique, took the information technology job with White River Electric Association.
According to district human resources director Jessica Browning, Dilly has been an active classroom volunteer for the last five years and has taught Spanish courses through the White River Academy. The Gutierrez family has three students in the Meeker school system.
Tonight, the Meeker School District will host a “welcome get-together” for Selle, his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Addison and Ainsley, at Meeker Golf Course from 4 to 7 p.m.
Snacks will be provided and the golf course bar will be open. Folks are welcome to stop by and say “hello.”
