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Special ed hirings cause controversy - Hibbing Daily Tribune: Local

Special ed hirings cause controversy

By Daily Tribune | Posted: Wednesday, June 6, 2007 12:00 am by Kelly Grinsteinner Assistant Editor HIBBING Four vacancies in one department is an oddity for the Hibbing School District. So is withholding action on a recommended hiring. On Wednesday, school board members were presented four names for hiring in the special education department. Three of the recommendations by the interview committee were heard and unanimously approved by the board. The three hires, all effective Aug. 28, included the following: Jessica Everett as a 1.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) special education teacher to be assigned emotional-behavorial disorder and learning disability at Greenhaven Elementary School; Ellen Jochems as a 1.0 FTE special education teacher to be assigned learning disability at Hibbing High School; and Catherine Skorina as a 1.0 FTE special education teacher to be assigned learning disability at Hibbing High School. A fourth recommendation, however, was removed from the agenda by Superintendent Robert Belluzzo prior to the beginning of the meeting. He stated a full board was needed to consider the person being recommended, while noting a directors absence. Director Ed LaTendresse was not there. The recommendation for hiring Robin Kuznik as a 1.0 FTE special education teacher for learning disability at Lincoln Elementary School. The hiring would have to be, and was recommended to be, contingent upon receiving a variance from the Minnesota Department of Education. Kuznik, a licensed elementary teacher, has served the district for several years in various capacities, including part-time teaching Title I. She is the wife of school board Director Tony Kuznik. Following the meeting, Belluzzo explained the matter was pulled from the agenda because the hiring of a family member must be a unanimous vote of the entire board. He said the district was advised of such by the Minnesota School Boards Association, not legal counsel. In the past, Tony Kuznik has abstained from voting in matters involving his wife, including placing her on unrequested leave of absence and recalling her, due to a perceived conflict of interest. When asked Wednesday whether the committee interviewed other qualified, special education
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Special ed hirings cause controversy - Hibbing Daily Tribune: Local

licensed instructors, Belluzzo responded by stating define qualified. We had other licensed candidates apply for the position, said Belluzzo. But the committee recommended her as the person to best fit what the district is looking for. The recommendation, he added, is expected to come up again at a future meeting. If it does, the district can anticipate action by members of the Hibbing United Educators (HUE), the teachers bargaining unit. High School English teacher Lynn Gigliotti read a letter to the board on behalf of HUE members during the reports portion of the meeting. In it, teachers requested that Kuzniks hiring be tabled pending discussion of her licensure and possible reposting of the position. Gigliotti spoke about how licensure must be first and foremost addressed in determining a qualified candidate, according to state and federal guidelines. She also noted that in order for one to obtain a variance, the district must prove that no other qualified candidates applied for the position in question. The union contends that at least 20 were interviewed out of a large pool of applicants. This hiring would mean that within the last year alone, the district will have hired two unlicensed people within the special education department, reads the letter. We would not knowingly allow a doctor or dentist that is not licensed to work with our bodies. Yet the district seems to feel that it is acceptable to allow unlicensed individuals to work with our children. Gigliotti stressed that proper licensure is not only the key to teaching, to educating students and to maintaining standards of the district, but that its also the law. Should you decide to proceed with the hiring of unlicensed personnel, she continued, a formal complaint will be filed with the Board of Teaching. In other action, the board accepted the resignation for purposes of retirement of special education teacher Laura Lignell effective Sept. 28. In other business, the school board: Approved the following hirings: Kara Ronning as a 1.0 FTE as a high school English teacher (seventh and eighth grades) and assistant head speech adviser effective Aug. 28; Jeanne Besemann as a .6 FTE high school English (eighth and ninth grades) and head speech adviser effective Aug. 28; and Caryl Bunkowske as a summer school English teacher for the period of June 6 through July 18. Approved a 2.5 percent salary increase to the third year of Belluzzos contract for the period of July 1 through June 30, 2008. Belluzzo did not receive a raise over the past two years of the three-year contract. His salary for the year will be $108,650.
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Special ed hirings cause controversy - Hibbing Daily Tribune: Local

Approved the 2007-08 annual budget by fund. The districts fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30. The board must adopt the budget by July 1. Approved the purchase of new kindergarten through sixth-grade reading materials from Harcourt Reading and to implement the curriculum effective for the 2007-08 school year. Acknowledged receipt of a notice for desire to negotiate from the confidential bargaining unit. Approved the contract for the deaf/hard of hearing services between the district and ISD 706, Virginia Public Schools, for the 2007-08 school year. Approved the purchase of occupational therapy and physical therapy services between the district and St. Marys Duluth Clinic for the 2007-08 school year. Approved the property/liability insurance premium with Berkley Risk Administrators (MSBA Insurance Trust) in the amount of $153,043. This represents a 10 percent decrease from 2006-07. Approved the ARCC services contact for the 2007-08 fiscal year.

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