Webutuck close to hiring new principal


WEBUTUCK — School Superintendent Richard Johns said the Webutuck district will try to hire a new principal for Eugene Brooks Middle School by the end of the month.

During Monday night’s Board of Education meeting, Johns said the board is narrowing its interview pool to five candidates and will meet them on Thursday, Oct. 11, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the high school library.

Interviews will be conducted by teams of teachers, school board members and parents.

"We are looking for more parents who want to volunteer to help us with these interviews," Johns said. "I was concerned about the timing of filling this vacancy because the end of a school year is not a prime hiring season. But we do have five good candidates to take a look at."

Eugene Brooks Middle School has been without a permanent principal since Scott Richards resigned in August. In September, Gerry Husted was hired as interim principal.

Over the summer, the school district lost three of its school principals.

In other business: The board debated but did not come to a decision about a possible concession stand.

The stand was previously proposed to be built somewhere between the high school’s field hockey field and tennis courts.

"I hope we can do something because the booster club has worked out of the most arcane conditions," board president Dale Culver said.

Sue Harrington was added as a department head for the curriculum council.

Harrington will serve as the head for special areas on the council.

An executive session was held before the meeting ended to discuss personnel matters.

At the beginning of the meeting, a moment of silence was observed in memory of sixth-grade teacher Liz Riehl.

"She was a very mature, very capable person," Johns said. "She was truly a wonderful teacher."

He said that the district intends to pay tribute to Riehl in the future.

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