Board approves Benedict, Hill and Day/Questions new admin position process

The Mahomet-Seymour School Board on Monday unanimously approved the hires of Mahomet-Seymour High School Principal Chad Benedict, Middletown Elementary Assistant Principal Dustin Day and Marissa Hill, who will become Mahomet-Seymour’s first District Coordinator.

But before approving Superintendent Lindsey Hall’s recommendations, board members Colleen Schultz, Meghan Hennesy and Ken Keefe questioned when the board was told about the creation of the District Coordinator, an administrative position.

Hall said she shared the position with the board in April.

Keefe also wanted to know why Benedict and Day’s applications for employment were included in the board packet, but Hill’s was not.

“As an applicant, Marissa was the only applicant, and we also shaped this position around her qualifications,” Hall replied. “We were also in desperate need of this position as well. She brought the qualifications and the skill set that we needed.”

According to the Mahomet-Seymour Board Policy 5:30, “All applicants must complete a District application in order to be considered for employment.”

The policy gives the responsibility of recruitment and making hiring recommendations to the board for its approval with the vision of hiring “the most qualified personnel consistent with budget and staffing requirements and in compliance with School Board policy on equal employment opportunity and minority recruitment.” (M-S Board Policy 5:30).

Board member Lori Larson said she remembered talking about the need for the position when the board was informed about the State of Illinois’ newly adopted Evidence-Based Funding Model.

Hall said the district had discussions with the Mahomet-Seymour Education Association about the position as well.

Keefe wanted to be updated on the development process for new administrative positions.

“When we as a district are looking at hiring a new administrative position, is that the typical process that it just gets discussed to the board one-on-one or was that discussed in an open meeting? How is that planning done?” Keefe asked.

“This is the only time I can think of that I’ve done that,” Hall said. “I can’t speak to prior practice, but I did run it by the board individually and talked to board members about it. It was not discussed in an open meeting. If it is the will of the board to do that, then we can look at another way to go.”

For Schultz, following the district’s policy will help the public understand when a new position is created, why some are posted internally while others are open to the public and what criteria is required for applying.

“I just feel that we need an open and transparent policy,” Schultz said.

Hall said the criteria to apply for all positions is consistent.

“Everybody has to apply through the AppleTrack online application,” Hall said.

“The writing in the application for some jobs say you must submit an application, and some say submit an email of interest,” Schultz replied. “Just as the public looking at that, they may not understand.”

“I can’t off the top of my head think of other than maybe a stipend or a coaching position where we say email,” Hall said.

Schultz pointed out that the District Coordinator job description read, “Applicants may submit a letter of interest to Christine Northrup.” (source: job posting)

“Marissa’s work history and her qualifications speak for themselves,” Hall said. “She’s a known quantity, she’s been a valued employee for 15 years.”

Hall said Hill was only required to submit her name because the district already had all of her credentials.

“The materials we have would be approximately 15-years old on her so we thought it was relevant,” Hall said.

Schultz said it’s a matter of transparency and consistency.

The job posting was available internally from April 18 to April 25. School was dismissed from April 19 to April 22 for the Easter holiday.

Aside from Hall talking to each board member individually, Larson said she remembered Christine Northrup presenting to the board in an open meeting.

She also feels the position is needed within the district.

“As an educator who does not work in this district any longer because I’m on the school board, but I work for the childhood population, and the incident rate of autism is immensely expensive and it’s much more cost-involved to educate children.

“If our district has always been known for being valued for special ed, I would be happy that we are proactive and being prepared for the incidents that may come our way because I have seen in my education and my experience that the needs of kids are greater and they’re being targeted earlier so that we can help them have greater outcomes in life.”

Board member Merle Giles said that the District Coordinator, which will help with oversight of the Pre-K program, 504 plans, Atlas and Compass programs and teacher evaluations, holds high value in the Evidence-Based Funding model.

Hall said with the retirement of administrators, and with other administrators leaving, the district has been able to hire replacements at a lower cost and make this administrative addition with a $4,879 savings in the upcoming fiscal year.

In Hall’s eyes, the position was fiscally responsible and will add to the district.

“Bringing these things under the umbrella and responsibility of one person, hopefully improves those services and communication,” she said. “Certainly some things are coming off of a number of administrator’s plates.”

Keefe said that he’s heard nothing but good things about Hill and the work that she has done.

Schultz echoed his position.

“We’ve heard all this great evidence that she seems great, and I have no concerns at all about her,” she said.

“I really feel that I must express that I do have a concern about a new administrative position that’s added without discussion in a board meeting; even a closed session meeting, although it’s inappropriate to discuss there. I feel we should have discussions before we add any administrative position.”

Hennesy agreed, saying, “I think that what we are saying is that there was no vote, and so we’re adding administrative positions without going through the formal process of having that formality voted on by the board.”

Hall said she believes the topic is something the board needs to discuss in the future.

“The transparency issue has nothing to do with this hire,” Schultz said.

“We’re talking about policy, but there is a real-live human being here with feelings and I want to keep saying over and over again that this is not anything, this has nothing to do with you at all.

“I feel very strongly that we should talk about this as a board.”

“That’s a great discussion for the board to have,” Hall said.

Keefe said he sat in on Mahomet-Seymour High School Principal interviews.

“(We) heard from four very strong candidates, and I just wanted to say that I think Mr. Benedict is an outstanding choice for this position,” he said.

“And I also wanted to applaud Dr. Hall for a very good process. There was a good cross-section of people from across the district, good discussion, so I just wanted to say thank you for that. That was very well done.”

Schultz said she was happy to see that Benedict was the choice for the principal position after hearing public comment about a job well-done in the April board meeting.

“It was nice to hear from the public when it wasn’t even a candidate that he was great at his job and so it makes me extra happy to bring you on board,” she said.

Benedict has been part of the Mahomet-Seymour School District for 13-years, first as a P.E. teacher and basketball coach for 12 years before stepping into a new role as Assistant Principal in the fall of 2018.

“It’s an honor to get this privilege at such a fine school and work for a district that promotes growth,” Benedict said. “I’ve had the pleasure to work with some amazing people in my 13 years here that helped me grow.”

Although Shannon Cheek will move on to become the Superintendent of the Arthur-Lovington School District, Benedict said he will continue to reach out to him for mentorship just as he has done over his tenure at Mahomet-Seymour.

Benedict is also excited to continue to work with Nathan Mills, Ryan Martin and Matt Hensley at the administrative level.

Hill said that she is excited to step into her new role.

When she began at Mahomet-Seymour in 2004, she was the junior high life skills teacher and started the Bulldog Buddy program. Last year she moved into the role of Instructional Coach for Special Education.

“I’ve been given lots of opportunity in this district; it’s been great to be able to grow and hone my practice,” Schultz said. “I just really appreciate the opportunity.”

Day comes to Mahomet-Seymour from the Danville School district where he taught kindergarten and first grade for seven years, was a Data and Instructional Facilitator (RTI and instructional coach) for five years and gained two years of administrative intern experience.

“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to serve the students of MPE, and the staff, Mr. Martin and the community,” Day said.