By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
In the minds of Burlington Area School District School Members, it is time to take a leap.
On Monday night, the BASD School Board Personnel Committee voted to send a job description for a communications coordinator to the full board for a vote in September – the first step in addressing one of the district’s strategic goals.
Those goals, developed last year during an in-depth study by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, include finding a way to better communicate the district’s strengths and potential, as well as improving in-district communication.
The position, if approved, will be posted with a $30,000 a year salary, for about 20 hours a week – a part-time job with no benefits.
Concerns raised Monday night at the meeting were that the lower salary and part-time nature of the job may not draw a high-quality candidate, and also the message that the person hired would be sending out.
In particular, School Board Member Phil Ketterhagen said he had concerns that the communications coordinator would present a pro-referendum message to the community.
Ketterhagen also raised the point that all information needs to be at hand to give to the public at all times. He said that, at the last of the public information sessions for the facility planning, a person asked about declining enrollment and the numbers were not immediately available.
When Superintendent Peter Smet said the information had been previously published, Ketterhagen said, “the information wasn’t available at that time that could have been available.”
Ketterhagen provided the numbers at that meeting two weeks ago.
The job description was clarified as per Ketterhagen’s concerns, making a chance that the communications coordinator work in accordance with state laws, which prohibit district employees from promoting a referendum.
The concerns about the part-time nature of the position were more difficult for the board to address. While it was agreed the board needed to start somewhere, several board members questioned whether the part-time position would be enough to for what the district wants to accomplish.
The position could include everything from internal communication and in-services to improving the district website and putting information out to the media on various programs.
Normandie Byrne, who was in the audience, suggested a public relations firm on retainer might be a better option, while Board Vice President Bill Campbell suggested a full-time position that would pay more than $100,000 and ask the employee to handle all tasks – like revising the website – internally.
Smet said that other districts have started with a part-time position, and moved to full time when needed.
Other news
School Board Member Rosanne Hahn was officially approved as the district’s nominee to fill the Wisconsin Association of School Board’s open position on its Board of Directors for Region 13.
Hahn has been serving as an interim voting member, but will be running for election in October. The board needed to officially approve her nomination per WASB rules, according to Smet.
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