The Board of Education amended the meeting agenda and approved a resolution to appoint a probationary assistant high school principal. The resolution named the appointee by initials in open session and the motion passed by voice vote.

Because the new hire requires notification to the appointee’s current employer and may not be available immediately, the board also voted to approve an interim acting assistant principal to cover the high school for up to 30 days. Administrators said the interim arrangement would reduce benefit costs compared with hiring a full-time employee; the interim daily rate cited during discussion was $775 per day and the superintendent estimated a not-to-exceed cost of roughly $23,000 if the full 30 days were used.

Trustees debated whether to fill the start-of-year role from internal staff versus bringing in an external interim. Two trustees said they intended to vote against the interim appointment because they preferred promoting or backfilling internally for the first month of school to avoid disrupting teachers and classroom assignments and to keep funds in the district’s payroll for internal staff. The superintendent and other administrators said the high school’s administrative workload, including enforcement of a newly adopted code of conduct and a new no-cell-phone policy, warranted dedicated support and that the selected interim has decades of administrative experience.

The board approved the probationary appointment and the interim acting appointment in separate votes. Administrators said candidates who were not selected would be notified privately and that the district follows customary timelines for notifications. Staff said the interim would depart their current role as soon as the current employer’s notice period allowed.

Board members asked administrators to ensure clear communication with staff and families about who will be on-site when school opens, and trustees asked that any external interim be covered within existing budget lines for personnel.