Thursday's Internet Edition, March 11, 2010.

Snowscape The weak rays of the winter sun try in vain to warm a frozen landscape at Charles Fork Lake near Spencer. Photo by Jim Cooper

Those on the transfer list will still have a job, although maybe a different one, in the coming year. Those on the Reduction in Force, or RIF, list may not be so lucky, although Superintendent Steve Goffreda remains optimistic.

He said some jobs should be restored when federal funds are approved this summer, while others will be able to find positions from retirements and resignations.

“The prognosis is good for quite a few people, better than in a lot of years,” Goffreda said following last Wednesday’s meeting at Roane County High School that lasted over three hours and included several executive sessions, including one of about an hour to discuss the personnel changes. The meeting had been postponed from the previous night because of the weather.

Goffreda said most of those on the RIF list were newer teachers.

“They are our up and coming young stars,” he said. “These are people we want. It’s just one of those things that happens when you first start.”

In past years, Goffreda said tenured personnel had to be notified they were going on the RIF or transfer list for the coming year by April 1, with non-tenured personnel notified by May 1.

He said that was moved up to Feb. 1 this year.

“The legislature has pinned us against the wall, so we’re doing the best we can,” personnel director Kathy Whoolery said.

“It makes it a little harder because we have not had kindergarten or pre-school registration for next year, or course registration at the high school,” she said.

In spite of the earlier deadline, Whoolery said only three service personnel were put on the RIF list, with none on the transfer list. The positions cut were two kindergarten aides and a sign interpreter.

Whoolery said that was the lowest number of service personnel cuts in her seven years as personnel director.

“There’s just not that many left to cut,” Goffreda said.

Goffreda said one reason there were fewer cuts was because enrollment increased slightly this year instead of going down.

He said many of the positions cut may be restored once the federal funds are finalized. But because the deadline is so early, he said the board had no choice but to make the cuts with the hope of returning the positions to the budget later.

The positions eliminated included a science teacher at Roane County High School, along with the teacher for the Saturday detention program at the school.

“That program was just not being utilized like it was when it was started,” Goffreda said.

Both Spencer Elementary and Walton Elementary/Middle lost a kindergarten teacher and a Title I teacher. Also eliminated were a first grade teacher and a sixth grade teacher at Geary Elementary/Middle and two reading intervention specialists, one at Spencer Middle and one countywide.

A new technology integration specialist position created this year was eliminated, as was the county’s food service director’s slot.

Goffreda said Roane hoped to work out an agreement to share a food service director with Calhoun to save both counties money.

Last year the county had worked out an agreement to share a food service director with two other counties, Pleasants and Wirt, but state officials would not approve the arrangement.

Teachers placed on the RIF list for the upcoming school year were: Emily Alvis, Kimberly Ashley, Ami Aylor, Stephanie Eastman, Jacqueline Higginbotham, Harry Knopp, Pam McDonough, Valerie Mace, Joseph Rector, Tamara Walker and Toni Wasserman.

Teachers placed on the transfer list were: Lisa Alfred, Suzanne Cummings, Travis Fisher, Sondra Hall, Andrea Hays, Laurie Hill, Denise Holliday, Robin Jarvis, Lora Matheney, Darlene Norman, Tina Riley, Sara Stricklen, Misty Terrell and Don Williams.

Service personnel placed on the RIF list were: Marie Ash, Sherrie Nichols and Troy Ware.