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Summer is time to hire

School districts filling positions

Melinda Mawdsley

— The notion that summer is a time of rest and relaxation for school administrators is, in many ways, a myth.

Hiring new staff, for example, is a job that doesn’t end with the school year. The hiring process begins as soon as a vacancy is announced, but it doesn’t end until the position is filled — whether it’s summer or not.

For Steamboat Springs High School Principal Mike Knezevich, the hiring process is ongoing, though he filled or came close to filling three positions Monday. Less than six weeks before school starts, there are seven vacant high school positions, including a biology/physics teacher and a physical education teacher.



Steamboat Springs, the largest school district in Routt County, is unique because high school administrators involve parents and students in the interview process.

“I would like to have people hired sooner, but we are very selective,” Knezevich said. “I sometimes watch the interaction between the candidate and the student. You can pick up a lot off that.”



There also are vacancies at Steamboat Springs Middle School and both Steamboat elementary schools.

Soroco and Hayden school districts are further along in the hiring process. Troy Zabel, Hayden High School and Middle School principal, said he filled six positions before school ended in May.

“This year was the best recruiting year I’ve ever had,” Zabel said. “People I wanted right off the start took the jobs. I’m really pleased with the people we hired.”

Zabel said the new teachers are from outside the area, but most are from Colorado. Hayden students will recognize the name Dean Massey. He is the new high school science teacher after serving as a long-term substitute teacher during the past academic year.

An elementary physical education/music teacher position is open at Hayden Valley Elementary School, as well as para-professional positions working with computer classes and kindergarten students.

Kelly Reed, Soroco’s superintendent, said there are vacant positions for a third-grade teacher and a middle school English teacher but he hopes to have both filled this week.

“You always try to fill the position with the best candidate,” Reed said. “What we’ll do is go through and screen packets. We’ll talk on the phone and invite our top candidates to an interview process.”

— To reach Melinda Mawdsley, call 871-4208 or e-mail mmawdsley@steamboatpilot.com


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