Principal duties to be shared at Center School

Center School’s principal duties will be shared by the district superintendent and the middle school principal, at least for the first three weeks of school, the school board learned Monday night.

Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson told the board that a “lead teacher” program would be installed at both Center School and Grand Coulee Dam Middle School to help take care of normal scheduling events.

The closed session of the school board Monday night to discuss Center School Principal Sue Hinton’s letter of resignation took a strange turn when the board failed to act on it. The letter contained some conditions that the board wasn’t willing to accept, a source said.

Hinton has been under investigation for allegedly not performing some of the duties assigned to principals, according to sources.

Hinton is still on administrative leave and being paid her regular salary and will be until the board agrees to the conditions or until they are negotiated away.

Hinton, principal since 1998, has been on paid administrative leave while Canfield & Associates, the district’s insurance carrier, conducted an investigation. She had been discharged by Carlson earlier.

The news was out last week that Hinton had cleaned out her desk.

The model for principal coverage at the school didn’t set too well with some members of the board. Board member Susan Chaffee responded to the plan, “At what peril?” She was referring to the added duties of supervising the district’s building program that Carlson has already assumed.

“With two lead teachers and the two of you involved, that’s four people doing what two people normally do,” added board member Butch Stanger.

Carlson assured the board that the staff at Center School was “on board” and Lakin said she was “okay” on dividing her time between the two schools.

At best, the board could only agree to approve the plan for three weeks until the board meets again.

Hinton replaced Ray Gilman as principal and was instrumental in moving Wright students to Center School a few years ago.

The board meets next on Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. at the district office.

Students Trevan Barnaby-Lesser, Allison Rice, Mia Morse, Aston Rodgers, Nathan Carson, Awston Clark, and D. J. Blake get a tour of Center School Tuesday morning while learning how to walk the halls appropriately, under the watchful eye of paraprofessional Shirley Ritchie. — Scott Hunter photo