Superintendent Dr. Burnet proposed a principal leadership coaching program for the district’s seven principals during the April 1 work session, outlining a plan of roughly 10 coaching sessions per principal and asking the board to approve agreements with leadership coaches.

Each proposed coach would be paid $8,000 for a July–December engagement; for seven principals that totals $56,000. Dr. Burnet described the coaches as current or former high-performing principals who would be matched to principals based on needs identified in the superintendent’s evaluations. The coaching period would run from July through December and would inform renewal/nonrenewal decisions at year’s end.

Trustee Smith and others asked about metrics and whether the district already uses state or existing programs such as the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute (IPLI). Dr. Burnet said principals have participated in IPLI and similar programs but that this coaching is intended to supplement those offerings by addressing evaluation-identified gaps. Trustees also asked how coaching summaries and outcomes would be shared; Dr. Burnet said coaches would provide summaries to the superintendent, not directly to the board, and staff would provide data on IPLI participation and results in a follow-up report.

Trustees raised a substantive funding question: the administration proposed paying for the work from grant funds but had not yet secured the grant. Dr. Burnet said the administration intends to allocate the expense in the planning budget and, if the grant is awarded, adjust or amend budgets later; she acknowledged that if grant funding is not obtained the district would have to identify alternate funding.

Trustees requested a clearer funding plan, data on prior programs such as IPLI and a description of what the coaching summaries will cover before committing to the full allocation.