Don Unruh is taking a year time-out from his job as athletic director at New Albany High School to serve as interim principal.

That comes after a 7-0 vote by the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. board Monday night.

Steve Sipes, the high school’s current principal, is retiring this month, so the board was looking to find a replacement.

“We know we had some quality applicants,” Superintendent Dennis Brooks said. “[But] we felt that after considerable discussion that there was not a real good fit among those applicants.”

So, he recommended the board promote Unruh to the post for the 2009-10 school year and reopen the search for a permanent replacement in December or January.

“I believe this is a very important year for New Albany High School,” Brooks told the board. “It will be a year, I think, a very strong team is needed ... and I believe Mr. Unruh can help lead and move New Albany High School forward this year.”

Unruh, who graduated from NAHS in 1974, said he is looking forward to the challenge the new position presents.

“I’m not thinking about what can’t be done in a year. I’m looking forward to what we can get done,” Unruh said after the meeting. “I think it’s going to be an exciting year and I’m looking forward to it.”

During this time, he said an interim athletic director will fill his former position. He said he’s unsure of when that person will be picked.

However, his time as principal may or may not be semi-permanent.

“I want to see how the first semester goes ... and I will make a decision at that time,” Unruh said of applying for the permanent principal position, adding that he enjoys and takes pride in his job as athletic director.

The board also picked a new leader for Pine View Elementary.

Principal Cindy Green is retiring this month and the board named Kyle Lanoue as her permanent replacement.

Lanoue, who will leave his position as assistant principal at Hazelwood Middle School, said he knows he has some big shoes to fill at the school.

“I look forward to the chance to lead Pine View and I’m very eager to dive in and get going,” he told the board.



GHOST HOURS

In May, the board voted to eliminate what was being termed as “ghost hours,” for allowing some employees to leave 30 minutes early in July and get paid for the entire day, effective next summer.

The tradition, which dates back to before Brooks came to the corporation, was brought up again at Monday’s meeting, but this time it was about this July.

Brooks recommended that the board allow the tradition to continue this summer, since the board approved that work schedule a year ago.

However, Lee Ann Wiseheart, board member, disagreed. She said since then people’s lives have changed and the economy is effecting everyone. She said she felt she needed to be fair to both the taxpayers and employees and suggested that people be paid for what they work — allowing them to leave the 30 minutes early if they wanted. However, those who leave early, wouldn’t be paid for time they weren’t working.

Not everyone agreed.

“I think we owe it to those people to talk to them first about changing a working condition,” Don Sakel, board member, said. “This is not how you treat people.”

Sakel said with other employee groups, such as teachers, changes are discussed thoroughly with those employees before deciding anything final. He said these employees deserved the same treatment.

“This is not our money,” Wiseheart responded back. “We have to be responsible with it.”

Wiseheart made a motion that those employees would have the right to leave early, but would not get paid for that extra time effective this summer. Two board members, Wiseheart and Jim Zoeller, voted in favor. However, it was shut down with four voting against. Roger Whaley abstained, due to a family member who would be effected by the change.



GETTING ONLINE WITH GRADES

Technology may help eliminate excuses from children who forget to give their report cards to their parents.

Michele Day, director of elementary education, came to the board to discuss changes with the printed versions of elementary report cards when board members asked if it was possible that those be available for parents online too.

Day told the board that is being considered by a committee right now for the secondary schools in the corporation. She said that committee is expected to make a recommendation to the board this fall. She said if the group decides to go ahead with it, then it would be discussed whether to expand that to include elementary schools too.

Neal Smith asked if they could go ahead and look into it now. However, Bill Briscoe, assistant to the superintendent for administration and operations, said the secondary teachers use computers to keep track of their students’ attendance and grading now and not all elementary teachers do the same.

Smith said that the board has been talking about this issue for two years and requested that the issue move ahead.

Briscoe said he will talk to the teachers’ association to start a committee to discuss adding the online option at the elementary schools.