NORTH CANTON: The Board of Education approved two administrative staff changes Wednesday night, in one case over the objections of two board members.
Greentown Elementary Principal Bryan McKenzie will become instructional supervisor for the district. Hoover High Associate Principal Jeff Breit was named principal of Greentown.
The moves take effect at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year.
The vote to reassign McKenzie was 3-2, with board members Betty Fulton, Chris Goldthorpe and Nancy Marion in favor. Chris Thomas and Jennifer Kling said the administration cannot create and fund a position that had not received board approval.
Superintendent Michael Gallina said the position already exists but is vacant, making it within the power of the administration to fill the post.
“Are you telling me that if a position existed 100 years ago, you could put someone in it now?” Thomas asked. “This is something the board should discuss and decide, not something we read in the newspaper. Until it is approved by the board, it is not done.”
The Beacon Journal first reported the moves Feb. 4, after teachers at Greentown were informed the school would be getting a new principal.
Kling, who was elected in November, said she did not agree with the “resurrection” of the instructional supervisor position, especially with an annual salary of $87,000.
In other business, the board approved renaming two of the district’s four elementary buildings as part of the Unified Elementary Design plan.
Clearmount and Northwood Elementary schools will remain the same for pupils in grades K-2. Greentown and Orchard Hill will become intermediate schools for students in grades 3-5 beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.
The board tabled for further discussion an administration proposal to approve Everyday Mathematics Common Core State Standard Edition, at a cost of $150,000, for use in math classes in grades K-5.
Members want to know how the current school day would accommodate the required double math classes without sacrificing other coursework. A meeting to discuss the new math curriculum is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Hoover High School Media Center.