Board approves athletic director position

By Christina Beam-Baraboo News Republic 4/10/06

The search is on for a full-time activities director after the Baraboo School Board approved adding the controversial position in a 5-0 vote Monday, with Judd Maxwell abstaining and Patty Spragg absent.

"It's a sensitive issue to bring something back that's been cut… but the main thing is it's a positive step forward," said baseball coach Paul Kujak after the meeting. The director will be able to "develop trust and friendships and the kids will realize the commitment to helping them develop," Kujak said.

Several members of the DREAMS music fundraising group again turned out to oppose the position, including Milissa Hintz, who said administrators' explanation of it as the leader in planning and supervising district activities gave her some reassurance. "I feel it's a warranted position," she said. "I'm just not so convinced it's good timing because of some of the cuts made just last year."

Opponents of last year's referenda and fine arts supporters found common ground standing against the activities director position, and the board tabled it at its March 26 meeting amid heated discussion. Monday they came back with a unified message.

"Two weeks ago I said the timing wasn't right," board member Kevin Bartol said. "I've changed my mind. The timing was late." Bartol said the position is necessary to increase student achievement and free up other administrators to be leaders in staff development. He suggested an assessment to track how effective the position is on those fronts.

Enrollment increased by 71 students this year, bringing in more revenue for some new expenditures, Director of Business Services Jim Long said. He did not have an estimate of the new position's cost Monday night.

High School Principal Machell Schwarz said the district has been reinvesting new revenue into programs that will in turn increase enrollment even more, such as online learning. "It is about providing the structure (and) the support to the students and staff in this district," board member Jill Ellinwood said. Maxwell said he abstained from voting for personal reasons.
The last full-time athletic director, Mike Devine, left in 2003, and Associate Principal Dave Hedgepath has covered those duties on a part-time basis since then.
=========================================================
Let's review: The Baraboo School Board created a full-time Athletic Supporter position for which there is no job description and no estimate of how much the position will cost. The reasons given by the Administration include because everybody else has one, it will increase enrollment in online learning, and provide structure and support for district staff and students. No wonder it passed unanimously. Just goes to show how out of touch with reality and misprioritized our school board members are. Lemmings, all.