Whitnall in Desperate Need of Tech Ed Teacher

With just a few weeks remaining before the start of the 2012-13 school year, Whitnall administration is still rounding out its staff with last-minute hires.

But one position – a technology education teacher at the and – is proving tougher to fill than the others.

“We have a few aides and teaching positions that will be filled on time,” said Joel Green, the district’s executive director of academic achievement. “Art’s about to be set, but tech ed is still a little bit of a problem. Tech ed is hard (to fill) throughout the state, it’s hard throughout the country.”

Green said the district has been advertising the tech ed position and putting in calls to various universities and colleges, asking contacts if they know of anybody that would be interested.

“We’re doing anything we can to scare the rabbit out of the hole,” Green said. “We’re digging; it’s just a hard one to find right now.”

He said the position is difficult to fill because many individuals who are technology oriented, or skilled in construction or drafting, don’t have the teaching credentials necessary to teach in Wisconsin. He said the district is prepared to hire a long-term sub, if necessary.

“We need someone with a math background, a computer background as well as someone who knows how machines work,” he said.

In addition to the high school and middle school tech ed teacher, the following positions remain unfilled as of Aug. 13:

• short-term substitute high school physics teacher
• high school auditorium manager/substitute teacher
• art teacher at Edgerton Elementary School
• high school assistant principal
• part-time elementary aides at both elementary schools
• two high school special education program aides
• noon-hour supervisors at elementary schools (three total)

Employee handbook a work in progress

In other district news, the school board got its first look at the employee handbook Monday.

The sections on employee compensation are notably blank. The district’s leadership team consisting of administrators, teachers, aides, food service personnel and custodians continues to discuss various aspects of the handbook, including salaries, but all final decisions are up to the discretion of the school board.

Superintendent Lowell Holtz said other hot-button topics the leadership team is working through are time off/sick leave and insurance/benefits.

“A lot of the things in there are legal issues and we don’t really have a lot of choice in how they’re structured,” board president Nancy Zaborowski said. “But there are areas that still need to be filled in.”

Board members were asked to review the handbook and be prepared to vote on its approval at a meeting Aug. 27.

“I’d like to have it in place when teachers come back to school,” Holtz said.

School begins Sept. 4.