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Archive for the ‘Administration’ Category

South Whidbey AD retiring

Posted in Administration, tagged , , , , on January 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Robby Sullivan elevates for a shot between Coupeville defenders Nick Guay (4) and William Davidson. The Wolves won handily in the final time South Whidbey AD Paul Lagerstedt will be involved in the rivalry. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

After a decade on the job, Paul Lagerstedt is retiring as South Whidbey High School Athletic Director.

The change was listed on the consent agenda for Wednesday’s school board meeting and his last day of employment will be June 30.

Lagerstedt, who is also an assistant vice principal, arrived at SWHS in 2015, after putting in 17 years at Thomas Jefferson High School in Auburn.

Along with being an AD, he has also worked as an English teacher and basketball coach.

That included a 10-year stint working with Mercer Island’s Ed Pepple, the winningest high school hoops coach in Washington state history.

During his time at South Whidbey, Lagerstedt worked closely with Coupeville AD Willie Smith, who said the friendly Falcon will be greatly missed.

“Paul has become one of my closest circle of AD’s, and more importantly, a good friend,” Smith said.

“Such a high caliber of a person: ethical, high character, even-keeled, knowledgeable, and passionate about his school and students.

“South Whidbey will certainly have a tough time replacing him,” he added.

“Though, if I know Paul, he has someone that he has mentored and will continue building up what he has started and maintain the same level of professionalism and character driven programs that he has developed.

“Definitely one of the highlights of my 30 years of education is getting to work alongside, with, and befriending Paul.”

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Response to drug incident highlights CHS staff professionalism

Posted in Administration, tagged , , , on January 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The quick response of school nurse Jennifer Morrell and first responders kept a drug-related incident from becoming worse Thursday at Coupeville High School.

CHS/CMS Principal Geoff Kappes sent a message to school staff afterwards and later agreed to allow the email to be published while expressing understandable concerns about generating more online attention.

My decision to publish this email is meant to help with two things.

One, to quell social media chatter.

And more importantly, to highlight the school’s ability to quickly, efficiently, and safely respond to emergency situations.

 

Good afternoon CMHS Staff,

I wanted to provide an update and express my gratitude for the effective and professional response to an incident that occurred earlier today involving a student who arrived at school under the influence.

At approximately 8:05 this morning, I was notified of a student who had concerning behaviors at the Prairie Center.

Upon observing the concerning behavior, I notified Nurse Jenn and she led the student to the health room. 

While there the student, expressing fear that the THC they had consumed might be laced with something, took the precautionary measure of requesting to self-administer Narcan.

9-1-1 was called and first responders arrived quickly, and the student was taken to the emergency room.

The latest update has informed us at this time the student is okay.

I was very impressed with the collaborative approach of our office team.

The student was cared for appropriately all while maintaining normal operations of the office and the school.

I want to address any potential concerns that may arise due to the administration of Narcan, commonly used to counter the effects of fentanyl.

This was a student request and self-administration out of an abundance of caution. 

We have no reason to believe that fentanyl was involved in this incident.

Moving forward, let’s continue to prioritize the safety and welfare of our students.

If you notice concerning behavior, please intervene and contact the office.

Thank you for your continued dedication and professionalism.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me.

 

Geoff Kappes
CHS/CMS Principal

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CEA expresses concern about pay, contracts

Posted in Administration, tagged , , , , on January 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The Coupeville Education Association has sent a stern letter to school board directors.

In it, CEA leaders assert “the district office has repeatedly failed to accurately and reliably pay our employees, provide contracts, and meet the requirements of our collective bargaining agreement.”

It then goes into detail on four major issues which the group has with the district.

The letter is included on the agenda for Thursday’s school board meeting, which is set for 5:30 PM in the Kathleen Anderson Boardroom on the CHS campus.

In the missive, CEA states an internal survey shows “only 18.4% of its members have confidence in the district office’s ability to appropriately resolve the current financial crisis.”

 

The letter can be read here:

Click to access CEA%20Board%20Correspondance%20Jan%202024.pdf

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Coupeville Schools superintendent resigns

Posted in Administration, tagged , , , on January 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Steve King

Coupeville Schools Superintendent Steve King has submitted a resignation letter to the school board.

In an email to staff Friday, he said, “This decision comes after a great deal of reflection and the letter summarizes everything I have to say at this time.

“In the next few weeks the district will communicate with you in regards to transition plans with my departure coming at the end of June.”

 

To read the letter, pop over to:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YEQCdr8GIAn5YQhBwwlSkrVJXwyApDi_/view

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Simmer down, internet conspiracy lovers

Posted in Administration, tagged , , , , on June 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville Schools Superintendent Steve King

Facebook comments are not real life.

It’s a Wild West out there, where anyone can say anything, and I don’t have the time or desire to spend countless hours shooting down every hot take which gets attached to a link for one of my stories.

I publish on the blog and am much more on top of comments which are submitted here — including requiring approval for first-time commentators.

But every once in a while, I need to address things which seep out from social media.

Nerves are frayed right now, with budget cuts being implemented. People are quick to jump on every last thing.

So, let’s clear up a few details relating to a recent story, which focused on the Coupeville School Board approving Superintendent Steve King’s contract at its meeting this coming Thursday.

That contract, which runs through 2025, is NOT an extension.

The agreement between King and the board was already in place, but there are changes to wording in the contract, as shown in the screenshots attached to the original story.

They primarily concern the timetable for the board’s annual evaluation of the superintendent.

Approval of the language edits is the reason for the contract being part of the agenda.

Secondly, King, along with other school district administrators and directors, is NOT getting a raise.

My story said nothing about a pay raise, though I can see why people might easily jump to that conclusion.

The most recent dollar figure I found for King on GovSalaries.com, which I quoted in the story, was from 2022 and was at $182,970.

That website, while useful for a lot of things, did NOT reflect King signing a contract June 27, 2022, for $198,522 a year running from 2022-2025.

So yes, he got a raise last time around, but his current salary remains fixed in place.

I should have been clearer about that point.

Coupeville’s top school officials jointly agreed to forgo salary increases for the 2023-2024 school year, or, in some cases, take pay reductions as the district works through its budget cuts.

As taxpayers who fund our schools, we have a right to be vocal about those cuts. Make your case. Make it a good one.

And Superintendent King has a right to do the job he’s been hired to do.

We may not agree on who or what is being cut, but don’t jump to the conclusion Coupeville’s administrators are somehow getting rich at other people’s expense.

The numbers, when properly presented, do not reflect that.

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