Green Mountain-Garwin Interim-Superintendent Gary Sinclair, left, speaks to the school board during this past Monday’s regular monthly meeting held in the elementary media center in Green Mountain. This was the first GMG board meeting led by Sinclair since being appointed as interim last month following Kym Stein’s resignation. Sinclair was previously employed by GMG as a principal and then as superintendent from 1983-1998. Also pictured (l-r), board members Kristine Kienzle, Doug Dieleman, and Jackie Stonewall. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

GREEN MOUNTAIN – In a decision few probably saw coming, the GMG Board of Education approved a motion Monday night to explore the possibility of sharing a superintendent with Baxter Community School District in Jasper County.

With newly-installed Interim-Superintendent Gary Sinclair at the helm, the monthly meeting of the Green Mountain-Garwin school board held in the elementary media center proved anything but boring with everything from budget overspending to broken boilers to sharing agreements to even a principal resignation addressed by the board.

(GMG’s budget woes will be addressed in a story publishing in next week’s Sun Courier.)

Following the resignation of former half-time GMG Superintendent Kym Stein during the February meeting and subsequent hiring of Sinclair as interim, a committee composed of board members Ann Jackson, Jackie Stonewall, and board president Jill Roberts met on Feb. 29 and on March 2 to go over the district’s options in terms of a possible sharing agreement for next school year.

The board was provided several sample motions to consider Monday night as part of the committee’s work including “sharing with Baxter Community School.”

Baxter – a small, rural school district with a PK-12 campus located in Jasper County roughly 35 miles southwest of Green Mountain and more than 40 miles from Garwin – has been searching for a superintendent for the next school year since the district’s current superintendent Dr. Mickolyn Clapper resigned (effective June 30, 2024) in December 2023.

“On the second day I was here, I started calling [area districts], looking for options,” Sinclair told the board Monday night.

Sinclair went on to say that by sharing with Baxter – which has currently reached an agreement, he said, with a new superintendent who will work two days per week in the district – the net savings would amount to roughly $75,000 compared to the current school year.

“I have not [received] any responses from any neighboring district that they’re willing to share,” Sinclair added.

Baxter currently has a certified enrollment of just under 339 students, according to documents provided by Sinclair, while GMG’s certified enrollment hovers just under 247.

Speaking for the committee, Jackson told the board their recommendation would be to move forward with sharing with Baxter citing both the cost of hiring a non-shared superintendent and the availability of suitable candidates as reasons for the recommendation to which Sinclair concurred.

Jackson received some pushback to her proposal, mainly from school board member David Collins who questioned the distance between the districts as well as where the Baxter candidate would be commuting from for the two positions.

“[A shared superintendent with Baxter is] not going to deal with an emergency,” Sinclair conceded, telling the board they would need to also make plans for a district administrator to step up if and when a possible crisis arises such as last week when the district lost power.

After several more minutes of discussion among the board members, Sinclair said they could ask for three days instead of two but such an arrangement would more than likely add another $30,000 to the superintendent’s salary.

The board eventually approved a motion to discuss with the Baxter candidate sharing a superintendent for the 2024-25 school year.

Several board members planned to meet with the candidate – who remained unnamed by both Sinclair and the board – this week Thursday or Friday.

Gargas resigns

Also during the meeting on Monday night, the board accepted as part of the consent agenda the resignation of the secondary principal, Jaimie Gargas effective at the end of the school year.

On Feb. 28, Gargas submitted a resignation letter to Sinclair and the school board. His stated reason for leaving was to “relocate to Arizona to be with family and pursue new opportunities.”

During the secondary principal’s report Monday evening, Gargas provided more context regarding his resignation which comes after spending seven years in the district – three as principal.

“I wanted to just address this one directly,” Gargas began. “This will be my last year in the school district … I’m an only child and my mom is moving down to Arizona from Colorado. … Being the only child, that’s my job — looking out for mom.”

Gargas said he has accepted a principal position at a middle school in the Prescott area.

“It’s definitely bittersweet … I can’t thank everybody enough for [the last seven years].”

Later in the meeting, the board approved a motion to adjust Gargas’ contract to include a districtwide administrative support and communication role.

In the weeks since the former superintendent went on medical leave in December 2023, Sinclair said that Gargas – and to an extent, Elementary Principal Stacey Busch – has had to assume greater responsibility. Sinclair cited last week’s power failure as just one such example.

“When the electricity went out last week, Jaimie had to make a decision. Jaimie called me and I was quite literally in an echocardiogram,” Sinclair said. “When this happens, we need somebody to be responsible.”

The board approved raising Gargas’ salary base by 5% – or roughly $4,500 – for the balance of the 2023-24 school year.

Gargas – and his subsequent replacement next school year – will not assume the legally required roles of superintendent, Sinclair said, but will instead provide consistent contact in the event of an emergency – essentially acting as a “spokesperson” for the district.

Other business

The monthly bills were approved by the board after removing two (first and second quarter) insurance premium payments for $22,944 each to SU Insurance Company. The bills were being pulled, Sinclair said, to “clarify some issues on the contract.”

Sinclair told the board interviews for both the head and assistant varsity softball coaching positions would be conducted this week. The district is still in need of a head varsity volleyball coach plus an assistant.

Logan Benson was approved as the junior high head softball coach; Katie Barnes was approved as the junior high assistant softball coach; and Dana Rosacker was approved as a paraeducator at the elementary building.

A presentation by Denovo Construction Solutions regarding major facility changes which had been scheduled to take place during the February meeting was again waived.

“All the options that [Denovo] presented are outside our spending authority,” Sinclair said. “There’s no use considering them.” Sinclair instead recommended the board’s Buildings, Grounds, and Transportation Committee along with the superintendent and custodial staff tour and inspect the district’s facilities, making a master list of issues to create a 10-year facility plan. Afterward, the group would meet with Denovo to review and refine the firm’s report.

Sinclair discussed the status of repairs to the water-damaged rooms at the secondary building in Garwin following the January cold snap which froze the building’s pipes. The district is currently working with Servpro on the cleanup process which will involve asbestos removal. Sinclair is hoping the work can get underway in June once students are not in the building.

An update on the high school boiler was also provided by Sinclair. The district has a boiler replacement bid for $91,600 from ACI Mechanical but Sinclair recommended the board wait until after meeting with Denovo. No matter what the district decides to do, Sinclair said, plans are for the boiler work to be completed by October 1, 2024.

After the elementary chiller failed last summer, insurance paid $25,000 for cleanup related to moisture as well as $90,000 for a chiller rental for four months. A new chiller is now on order and should arrive by April with installation completed by mid-May, Sinclair said.

The board approved the ‘Proposed Tax Notice’ public hearing for Monday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. This hearing will allow the public to provide input on their proposed tax notices. Currently, GMG property owners pay a school levy of $12.37 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. Sinclair recommended the board maintain a similar levy for next year.

The board also approved a public hearing for the same night and time for the 2024-25 certified budget.

Due to declining enrollment, the district’s budget guarantee resolution of $34,955 was also approved by the board. GMG was down eight students as of October 2023.