A new Luverne Middle School principal will be in place this fall, provided board members approve the hiring of Jason Phelps at tonight’s (June 20) meeting.
Phelps has been the principal at Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary School for the past five years.
Phelps is coming into the new position with some familiarity with LMS.
Luverne was his first teaching position after graduating from South Dakota State University in Brookings.
He taught social studies to middle and high school students for 15 years before receiving his principal licensure in 2013.
In 2014 he became principal at Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary, a position he filled until accepting the position in Luverne.
Phelps begins his new duties July 1 at a salary of $99,500.
The middle school principal position was eliminated 15 years ago, but the Luverne School Board reinstated the position on May 9 on recommendation from current administrators for a principal to work directly with junior high students.
The district received 19 applications for the principal position with four people interviewed, according to Superintendent Craig Oftedahl.
Current middle-high school principal Ryan Johnson will serve as high school principal.
Along with the addition of another principal to the district, board members at their May 9 meeting also approved an elementary student support/behavior interventionist, which was on Thursday’s agenda for approval.
Administrators have now extended contracts to fill all the open licensed teacher positions for the 2019-20 school year.
“It’s been a very busy few weeks,” said Elementary Principal Stacy Gillette. “We’ve had good candidates and good interviews.”
Meanwhile, Hills-Beaver Creek School Board met in special session Tuesday night and accepted Phelps’ resignation as its elementary principal.
The agenda also included action on a proposed district administrative restructuring plan, according to Superintendent Todd Holthaus.
Tonight’s Luverne School Board meeting follows the 6 p.m. groundbreaking ceremony on the south side of the school.
Community input is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. followed by the 7 p.m. board meeting.