ALLEGANY, N.Y. — The new year will bring changes to several administrative positions at Allegany-Limestone Central School District, Interim Superintendent Mark J. Ward said this week.

Ward, who is temporarily seated in the position in place of the former superintendent, Dr. Karen Geelan, until a new superintendent is hired, said he decided to implement the changes to streamline administrative activities. The changes will be effective Jan. 2 and will not affect salaries.

“After careful consideration of duties and the overall operation of the administrative functions and job responsibilities several changes are planned to take place,” Ward said in a written statement. The reorganizational changes will affect leadership in special education; instruction and technology departments; the middle/high school; and the district clerk position. No changes will occur for the elementary school.

When contacted Tuesday, Ward said all of the changes can be made without board approval at Tuesday’s meeting as the shifts were basically lateral for most of the administrators involved. The exception is for the district clerk position, held by Mike Watson, who will be re-appointed by the board to serve as deputy district clerk in addition to his business administrator duties.

“Normally you wouldn’t do this as an interim, but I guess it’s better to do this now so a new person doesn’t get stuck having to do it,” Ward said of the changes.

A break-down of the reorganized positions were provided by Ward.

Special Education:

Alicia Bockmier will be in charge of all District Special Education Services, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and will serve as the committee on special education (CSE) chairperson. Bockmier currently shares the duties with Jonathan Luce.

“This will allow us to centralize services and coordinate special education through one person and one office,” Ward said. “While this may seem like a dramatic change, it will allow us to operate a centralized department, provide better clarification of duties, streamline scheduling and maintain more control over programming.”

He said families and students will work with one person who will be responsible for all special education programming, and Bockmier’s office will remain in the elementary building.

Middle School/High School:

Ward said Cory Pecorella will continue to serve as the middle-high school principal and will be joined by Luce who will serve as assistant middle/high school principal. Ward said Luce will have additional job duties as roughly 40 percent of his job will be associated with athletics in his role as the district’s athletic director. Ward said Pecorella will be able to examine the grading policy, master schedule, staffing and curriculum offerings under the change.

“By shifting some responsibilities, Mr. Pecorella will have more time to provide the building leadership and address structural and program issues,” Ward noted. He said Luce will no longer serve as the 6-12 CSE chairperson, but will work closely with Pecorella. Luce’s office will be located in the old middle school office and his duties will be assigned by Pecorella. Ward said only Pecorella and Luce will deal with discipline in grades six through 12.

Instruction:

Ward said Paige Kinnard will continue in her role as the director of instruction for kindergarten through 12th grade with her focus on curriculum, instruction, staff development, academic intervention services and testing.

“She has a variety of other duties that have been assigned to her, but she will no longer be listed as a building administrator,” Ward said. Kinnard will continue to be involved in the teacher evaluation process as well as related administrative planning and approval of the annual professional stipends.

Technology:

Ward said Kevin Straub will continue to serve as director of technology.

“His job will require that he continue to expand his leadership and be the big picture visionary for the district,” Ward continued. “While it is difficult to stay ahead, we will look to Mr. Straub to be the go-to person so the district can make good decisions on future technology purchases, programs and new products.”

Straub will also start serving as the district’s webmaster by overseeing and developing an entirely new look for the website in an effort to make it more user-friendly. Ward said the district will also rely on a “very active technology committee comprised of board members, teachers, staff, students and community members …”

District Clerk:

Ward said Kristin Colburn, secretary to the superintendent, will be named district clerk by the board, a responsibility held by business manager Mike Watson. In her new role, Colburn will attend all board meetings, take and post minutes and assume functions related to human resource needs in the district.

“This is certainly not a reflection of the outstanding job Mike Watson has done all these years, rather it is a reflection of the times and how most school districts handle the duties and responsibilities associated with this position,” Ward said.  

He said the scope and complexity of the Watson’s position as business administrator has continued to grow and increase over time, with no duties taken away.

“That is why we need to shave off this portion of his job and put all of the functions with the superintendent’s secretary,” Ward said.