Wheatland refreshes its principal quest

School gets by with leader by committee

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

After drawing little interest in their vacant principal position, Wheatland Center School officials are hoping for better results this spring.

Wheatland has been without a principal since October when Patti Clements, who served in the role for six years, resigned to take a position as coordinator for the Gifted and Talented Program at Kenosha Unified School District.

Currently, the school is using different personnel to fill certain areas of the position, according to District Administrator Marty McGinley.

“We have several people who are qualified to do that, and didn’t necessarily want to be the principal, but were willing to help out,” he said.

Physical education teacher Bill Lois is handling the disciplinary side and Megan Zirbel in the science department is filling the curriculum hole.

McGinley cited leadership through using the strengths the school already has in place.

“We are calling it strength-based leadership, we got some really strong people at different areas,” McGinley said. “They come out of their class for a couple hours a day to do that.”

The district seeks to fill the vacancy by the 2016-17 academic year, and noted the timing of Clemens’ resignation was not ideal for seeking the best candidates.

“It was the best decision for Wheatland at the time due to where we were at in the year,” McGinley said. “I did not feel the candidate pool would be conducive to what we were looking for in a leader for a fall posting, and my inquiries in the local area did not produce a viable interim candidate.”

“In school hiring practices, it is generally understood that the best principal candidates begin looking in February and March for a career opportunities,” he said, noting that principal’s contract typically run from July-June.

The posting will close in mid-to-late February when they will review applicants and start the interview process.

See the Feb. 5 print edition of the Westosha Report for the full story


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