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Teacher turnover
WCMS principal position open
Alisa Rice copy.jpg

School is out for the summer, but that does not mean the Warren County School System is not working to prepare for the next academic year.

According to Director of Schools Dr. Grant Swallows, this year’s current changes in employment reflect 11 retirements of personnel, 15 resignations to pursue other opportunities and 19 employees who were non-renewed, which can be for various reasons. “Those could be licensure issues, staff reduction or any other reason that a non-tenured teacher might not be rehired for the following year,” said Swallows.

Notable changes include the position of Warren County Middle School (WCMS) principal which was previously held by Alissa Rice. 

Rice has accepted a position as 6-8 ELA coach for the Warren County School District. Additionally, the position of assistant principal for Dibrell Elementary is open and applications for both positions are being accepted on the warrenschools.mysmarthire.com site.

This year, the school district reduced its teaching positions by 10 spots due to a drop in enrollment over the past decade. In 2014-15, Warren County boasted enrollment of 6,444, but ended this year with 6,150 students.

“That’s not a huge decline, but it does necessitate an adjustment,” said Swallows. “We also hired 20 educational assistants last year with our federal relief money and that goes away in June.” Of the 20 educational assistants, 11 were able to be saved using local budget for the upcoming school year.

“It’s a tough process that is never easy because we are dealing with the livelihood of our people. However, we have to be equitable throughout the district with employment standards and practices,” Swallows said. “I am also of the belief that the movement will continue throughout the summer as more people make decisions and we get people settled into the right places.”

Swallows expressed, with the exception of the 10 teaching positions removed due to enrollment and the nine educational assistant positions which could not be saved, there are plans to “rehire employees into any vacant position.”