By Lori EhdeThe June 24 resignation of Elementary Principal Melody Tenhoff prompted a flurry of personnel changes in Luverne School District.In a special work session Thursday morning, July 1, Luverne School Board members and district administrators hammered out their options.Tenhoff was making $65,390, and preliminary data indicates the district would likely end up paying a new principal at least that much to come to Luverne.The proposal before School Board members at their July 22 meeting will be to operate with two principals, instead of three, and to add a half-time dean of students to pick up some slack."This was an opportunity to try this," said District Finance Officer Marlene Mann. "We’ve been talking about this for a couple of years as an option we need to look at because of declining enrollment."Current High School Principal Gary Fisher will be the 6-12 principal and current Middle School Principal Stacy Gillette will be the elementary principal for grades K-5.To keep programs for middle school identity and to help with middle school discipline, current athletic director and teacher Todd Oye may fill the role of half-time dean of students.District Finance Officer Marlene Mann said the district won’t necessarily see a cost savings by not replacing the elementary principal.Rather, she said it allows the district to hire some teachers where classes were going to be large and teachers’ schedules overloaded."For the good of the students, this is the approach they’re taking," Mann said. For example, in the English department, four teachers were going to have to teach extra classes (for extra pay) to accommodate student numbers in that area. Similarly, in social studies, three teachers would have to teach extra classes.Instead, the district would hire a full-time teacher to keep class sizes manageable overall."Not too many districts our size operate with only two principals," Fisher said. "If we can get two more middle school teachers, it’s a benefit to the students, as long as our teachers can stay up to snuff on No Child Left Behind (federal standards that Olson used to handle.)"The starting salary for teachers in Luverne is $28,463. Oye would keep his AD duties and give up half-time teaching to assume dean of students’ duties, which pays $17,360, which is what he was making for half-time teaching.Another teacher may be hired to pick up his former teaching duties, and those of middle school teacher Kathy Olson, who resigned this spring.Jan Olson has served as district curriculum coordinator and alternative school director, but in recent budget cuts, her positions were eliminated and she was moved to the classroom.Now, it appears, she’ll continue her curriculum duties, along with four hours of classroom work."In the long run, it should be a cost savings to the district, to have one less administrator," Mann said.Luverne teacher Mark Lundgren attended Thursday’s meeting and said he was encouraged by the process."I thought they did a nice job of hashing it out," he said. "It was no easy issue, and they tried to weigh all sides to figure out what’s best for the kids."The July 22 School Board meeting is at 7:30 p.m. in the District Office.