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Rio School District trustees Thursday night appointed a longtime principal as the new assistant superintendent of educational services but delayed several other changes proposed by staff.

Jeff Turner, 42, the district’s coordinator of curriculum and instruction and Rio Lindo’s principal, was appointed to the educational services post. It has been filled on an interim basis by Barbara Wagner, who has led the department for the past two years and worked closely with Turner. She will leave June 30.

“We have found the right person,” Wagner said of Turner during a break in the meeting. She said he has the skills and experience needed for the job.

Turner, who started his career as a teacher 16 years ago, was a principal for 10 years, including in Rio for the past four.

The board also was asked Thursday to reorganize the leadership of the facilities department. Director Kevin Mitchell, in the post since 2008, is resigning next week. With his departure, officials said, they have an opportunity to save about $120,000 next school year.

Their plans call for combining oversight of the facilities and technology departments, and hiring two independent contractors to handle some of the facilities work on a part-time basis. That includes contracting with Mitchell to work on some ongoing projects over the next year. He would be paid $15,000 for that work, according to the plan.

Along with that move, the board was asked to approve a new director of fiscal services to replace Terri Renelli, who resigned from her post this month.

But trustees refused to make any of those other moves Thursday.

Trustee Henrietta Macias said she wanted more information before approving a new fiscal services director.

Assistant Superintendent Mark Krueger offered to provide more details Thursday, but Macias wanted the move delayed to a future meeting.

She and Trustee Ramon Rodriguez also asked that the facilities reorganization issue be delayed.

Without approving the new job description, it leaves the district without someone to head the facilities department, Krueger told trustees.

Krueger already has taken on superintendent duties, since the board decided to release Sherianne Cotterell from her contract in March. She was given 60 days’ notice and placed on leave. The board is recruiting an interim superintendent to fill her post.

Along with superintendent duties and his own, Krueger said, he has had to take on much of Renelli’s fiscal work. “Now I’m not going to have a director of facilities next week. So I’m going to be the supervisor over 35 additional people, in addition to the duties that I’m already (doing). That’s a lot to expect from one person,” he said.

“One person can only do so much for the district without things starting to fall apart,” he said.

Wagner, who has shared the superintendent duties, told trustees that staff is trying to keep the district strong and provide some consistency, saying a lot of changes will be happening.

Macias said the changes can wait for an interim superintendent to come on board. Regarding Mitchell coming back as a consultant, she said, “If he wants to leave, I’m very happy for him. But I do not want to bring him back as a consultant.”

Other staff members have been asked to do more with less, Rodriguez said, adding that Krueger’s additional responsibilities only would be temporary.

Trustee Tim Blaylock disagreed, saying he thinks the gaps need to be filled and an interim superintendent could always make changes later.

After the items were delayed, the board later decided to hold a special meeting next week to consider the personnel report, including the appointment of a fiscal services director. Macias is expected to meet with Krueger to get more information before that meeting. The facilities changes, however, are not expected to be brought back at that meeting.

On Thursday, trustees did approve temporarily hiring consultant Barbara Vollmert to help prepare the district’s budget.

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Tags: Assistant Superintendent, Changes

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