By Sheila Crowley
Fulda Free Press staffwriter
The Fulda School Board met in regular session this past Monday night. Amongst the items on the agenda were the possible sharing arrangement with Westbrook Walnut Grove/Fulda/Lake Benton.
Westbrook Walnut Grove will hold Superintendent Loy Woelber’s contract. Fulda will be responsible for 40% of Woelber’s contract. He will be in Fulda two days a week with a cost of $44,000 in salary and a total package of $60,351.71 to the district.
In discussion amongst the board following the proposal brought forth by current Superintendent Wendorff, Theanne Pagel raised concerns feeling the board was maybe rushing into a decision. Pagel said she feels the school district itself might want the board to consider possible savings. Last year when the board was looking at hiring a principal and superintendent, the board opted to increase the role of the high school principal to full time. “If we are ever trying to save money, we didn’t do it then and maybe have the opportunity to rethink the situation like combining positions.” She also mentioned the additional $10,000 the district will be paying in benefits package as a result of three administrators. She also commented on the length of time the district worked on the sports agreement and in comparison the district first learned of Wendorff’s desire to leave at last month’s meeting. “We are already voting on a new superintendent and I feel that’s rushing things.” And continued with, “Choosing a superintendent should be at least as significant as our athletic program of which we’ve spent months discussing.”
The cost to the shared districts will be billed out to the partner districts in January and June. Instead of billing mileage, gas only for the school owned vehicle will be shared by the three districts (prorated).
If any district wants out of the sharing arrangement at the end of the year two they must notify Westbrook Walnut Grove by March 15, 2020. Each district understands that flexibility in scheduling is a must and that Mr. Woelber will keep the percentage with each district as tight as possible.
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