BoE Unveils New Administrative Plan
By WRILEY NELSON
COOPERSTOWN
About 40 people attended the Cooperstown Board of Education’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, December 20 to discuss recent changes in the district’s administration. Superintendent Sarah Spross did not confirm the rumored departure of High School Principal Owen Kelso Jr. in her report, but did announce that there had been a resignation in the administration. Spross also said that Elementary School Principal Amy Malcuria will move into a dual role as K-12 principal on an interim basis for the remainder of the school year.
Looking forward, Spross and the board presented a plan to restructure the administration with new positions. Under this plan, each of the two schools will have its own dean of students, and they will share a student support services coordinator. The district aims to recruit internally, if possible, and will unroll their recruitment strategy in March.
The public comment period after the superintendent’s report was contentious. About half a dozen parents and teachers rose to speak about the ongoing failure to fill the vacant elementary music teacher position, resulting in extra work for the high school department and fewer opportunities for students. Several parents also noted the administration’s lack of transparency concerning the recent resignation and the recruitment of new teachers and administrators. A few asked about the wisdom of moving teachers into the administration when they are already understaffed. One community member pointedly asked the board whether they planned to hire a new high school principal at all. He was told to contact one of the board members after the meeting to discuss the matter further; at this point, the crowd began to murmur. Several more parents repeated the question and were likewise asked to wait.
Cooperstown has suffered from significant recruitment and retention problems in recent years. Many of the district’s most experienced educators have retired or resigned, leading to increased workloads and class sizes for those who remain. Spross presented class size statistics, showing that only seven class sections in the high school have 30 or more students; still, the average is trending upward. The highest turnover, however, is near the top. There have been seven high school principals, not counting acting or interim incumbents, since the summer of 2016.
Despite these concerns, the board remains optimistic about Malcuria’s tenure as interim, and attendees seemed to cautiously share that optimism.
“We can all agree that we have a great elementary school principal,” Keith Parr said during the public comment period. “But are we putting her in an impossible position going forward?”
