“The seniors are done. Go out and have fun. Run in the sun with a hot dog bun.”
Playin’ hard: The womens soccer team is on their way to the top pg. 11 Scandal: Junior Spencer Ryan hacks his way to a 10 day suspension. pg.7 May 20, 2005 Volume XVI, Issue 9
Dexter High School 2200 N. Parker Road Dexter, MI 48130
Battle for time: Battle of the Bands rescheduled for May 26 pg.6
Little becomes permanent high school principal Raleigh Holmes morale manager
Interim principal Patrick Little was named principal on Friday, May 13. Little was an interim principal for the second half of the school year due to Glen Stevenson moving to the assistant superintendent’s job. Superintendent Evelynn Shirk, along with other district principals including Jami Bronson, Mary Marshall, Roger Moore, Judy Harnish and Glen Stevenson, narrowed 32 applicants down to 16 preliminary candidates. This preliminary list was then cut to three candidates. The last three people were Brian
Klochack, co-principal at Owosso High School; Nancy Shannon who is currently working on her PhD at Baker College and previously worked at Fordson High School as the assistant principal; and Little, who has been at Dexter for seven years. They were all interviewed by a committee of teachers, parents and students on May 5. Each committee member voted for who they would want as principal. The votes were tallied, and the results given to Paula Thomas who acted as a facilitator for the evening. The interview committee supported Klochack as their first choice,
Student is Young Citizen of the Year finalist
so Shirk talked to him first. “I contacted Mr. Klochack and offered him the job,” Shirk said. “He had some questions about the district so Mr. Stevenson and I met with him on Tuesday afternoon. We meet for over an hour.” Shirk said Klochack had some questions about insurance that Shirk could not answer. Business Director Sharon Raschke give him a call later that night. “It was my understanding that call went well, and so I was confident that he would take the job,” Shirk said. “When he called with his answer the next morning, he declined
to accept the position.” Klochack didn’t return phone calls seeking comment on his reasons for turning down the job. Shirk then offered the job to Little. “I am confident that Mr. Little will do a great job of leading Dexter High School,” Shirk said. Little accepted and is excited about the opportunity. “I am really excited about it,” Little said. “I’m proud to have this job and proud of our high school.” Little went to college at Western Michigan University and received a bachelor of science in political science degree with minors in English
Molly Brewster morale manager
As college admissions become more competitive, students find it is important to show enthusiasm in order to be accepted. Counselor Larry LeBlanc said the first step in college applications is to pick several schools to apply to. “We suggest that you pick one ‘reach’ school that you’d really like to go to but might be more difficult to get into, several schools that you would most likely get into and one fall back school,” he said. The next step according to LeBlanc is to make college visits. “It is important to visit the colleges and make sure that they are the best for you personally, academically and have a good career path that you are interested in,” he said. “After the visit a person will have an intuitive sense about whether or not that is where they will fit.” And junior Kelsey Wilson has taken LeBlanc’s advice. She said she has made plans to visit several colleges she would like to attend. “I have already talked to some professors at a couple of the schools,” she said. “Over Memorial Day weekend I am going to visit University of Wisconsin or Indiana. Then early in the summer I am going to look at the University of Washington.” On college visits LeBlanc said it is important to meet with administration at larger school or a professor at smaller schools. “Talking to administrators, professors and students is a really good way to get a feel for what the school really is like,” he said. Wilson said she has already contacted all the schools she will be applying to. “I have e-mailed all the admissions departments at the schools I am planning to apply to,” she said. “I told them I was interested in going into international business, and they gave me information on their programs.” When contacting college administrations Leblanc said it is important to be sincere. “Colleges don’t want to receive letters of recommendation from senators because they know that they don’t have any idea of what kind of person the applicant really is,” he said. “Students shouldn’t try and be too flashy. A letter of recommendation from a teacher has much more value.” Colleges big and small do read all essays and letters of recommendation they receive from students LeBlanc said. “Enthusiasm really is important when it comes down to the last pool of candidates that schools are looking to accept,” he said. “Schools want to see that students really are interested and that they have done their research about the school and why they want to go there.” If a student is wait listed LeBlanc said it is best to write the school a follow-up letter restating why they want to go to the school so badly. “It’s important to say why the school is such a perfect fit, that you like the living conditions, that they have a good program for what your looking to study,” he said. “It is also important to tell the school what you can bring to them. And that just might make the difference whether you get in or not.”
One great citizen: Because of his involvement in community service, three teachers nominated senior Mark Messmore for the Ann Arbor News Young Citizen of the Year Award. Messmore was one of nine finalists for this award.
Senior pranks tolerated until laws are broken Dan Monson staff writer
Students found that “The Rock” by Parker Road was not in it’s usual place on May 9. It had been buried. The spray paint on the road indicated that this was indeed the first senior prank from the class of 2005. Senior pranks have been numerous in the past few years, ranging from the para pro’s golf cart floating on the retention pond to dead animals in the ceiling tiles. According to assistant principal Andrea Glynn, senior pranks are normal occurrences but cross the line when a law is broken in the process. She said last week’s prank would have been fine if public defacing hadn’t been involved. “The main problem I had with (the rock) prank was that it wasn’t legal,” she said. Glynn said she didn’t know who executed “The Rock” prank, but an investigation is underway to determine what action, if any, should be taken.
On duty: Patrick Little stands in the hallway. He became principal May 13.
Early college application has benefits
Sarah Craft editor in chief
Senior Mark Messmore was recognized as an Ann Arbor News Young Citizen of the Year on May 8. Messmore said he was actually nominated by three people from the school, assistant principal Andrea Glynn, Key Club adviser Amy Raus and National Honor Society adviser Cheryl Wells. “I see how big of an impact he’s made on the school,” Glynn said. “He is so committed to community service, more so than anyone I’ve seen.” Glynn said she and the other teachers gathered information about Messmore’s accomplishments and sent in the nomination. “It was really nice of those teachers to nominate me,” he said. “I don’t do those things for recognition, but it was nice to get some.” As a finalist, Messmore will receive a $1000 scholarship from the Ann Arbor News which he said will definitely go towards college. But since he is attending the University of Michigan in the fall, he said the $1000 is nice to have, but not that nice. “$1000 will pay for room and board,” Messmore said laughing. “Not all of it, but it’ll take a stab at it.”
and social studies in 1994. From 1994-1995 he taught social studies and English at Harper Creek High School in Battle Creek. He then taught at Charlotte High School from 1995-1998. Little taught in Dexter from 19982001. In 2003 he received a specialist degree in educational leadership from Eastern Michigan University. As for his plans for Dexter High School, Little said, “I want to develop more plans for struggling students. I also want to improve communication between students, parents and school.”
█Administrators decides what action should be taken for senior pranks
Off to school: Instead of being stressed during her senior year, junior Kelsey Wilson plans on applying to colleges early. This summer, Wilson plans on visiting many colleges to see which is best for her.
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Over Memorial Day weekend I am going to visit University of Wisconsin or Indiana. Then early in the summer I am going to look at the University of Washington.
”
-Kelsey Wilson, junior
Photo by Mike Vickers
U of M: Walking through campus, senior Whitney Holmes explores her future school. “I applied as soon as you could,” Holmes said. “I didn’t want to have to worry about where I was going to college and go through the whole waiting process.”
Community members questions district’s honesty Editor’s note: This is a continuation of an article from last issue looking at issues raised by an article in The Community Observer about the district’s budget situation. Hilary McCown & Brandon Mayotte copy and image editors
Photo by Mike Vickers
Trouble in paradise: With more meetings, tries to solve problems within the school system.
Former superintendent Bill Spargur announced his resignation to the board of education in September of 2003. Due to the early termination of his contract, the board drafted a “Retirement/Separation Agreement.” This would allow the board to accept his resignation early. “According to the contract, if the board terminated the contract early, (Spargur) would have been entitled to 15 months severance pay,” Superintendent Evelynn Shirk said. Because of that, Spargur was paid $63,332, a sum that was agreed upon by Spargur and the board.
This was, according to Shirk, much less than the severance pay would have been. However, according to board treasurer Jane Hoggard, Spargur’s decision to retire was no one’s but his own. Thus, Hoggard says the board owed him no money. Since the contract wasn’t terminated by the board, no extra money would had to have been paid. Shirk, though, said that her understanding of the matter is that regardless of whose idea it was to terminate the contract, some amount of money had to paid, whether it was the 15 month severance pay or the $63,000 figure that the board and Spargur agreed upon. When attempts were made to get the name and phone number of the district’s attorney to receive infor-
mation regarding the legality of this transaction, Shirk said she could not give this name because any contact with the district’s lawyer costs the district money. She did give the name of another lawyer who she said could answer questions regarding the situation. The Squall was finally given the name of the district’s attorney by Mona Auerbach, Shirk’s secretary. Charles Durr, an attorney at Miller Canfield, the district’s law firm, said “Nobody’s done anything illegal.” But added since it was Spargur’s decision to retire, “there is no obligation to pay him for the remainder of (his term in office).” However, Durr said that it is common for district’s to pay their superintendents for leaving early. As well as the issue of whether or not money was actually owed to Sp-
argur, another debate persists about the legality of Spargur’s last contract renewal through 2005. Rather than drafting a new contract, the board voted on an extension of Spargur’s original contract and put it in the minutes of a board meeting. No formal contract was written and no names were signed. Attorney Lindsey Schek, a lawyer not affiliated with the district, said that Spargur’s original contract that went through in 2004 was poorly written and that is the reason he was able to receive pay for his early resignation. The contract had no resignation policy, which, according to Schek, is not the normal practice. Though what the board did was legal, she said it seems unwise. “I can’t believe someone would write a
contract without a resignation policy,” she said. Spargur did not return phone calls seeking comment on the situation. As far as the original Community Observer article that started the controversy, long term board member Dick Lundy said that he doesn’t think the article “represents what happened in any way shape or form.” However, Mike Betcold, editor of the Community Observer, said, “Nothing that we’ve printed has been proven to be inaccurate.” According to Betcold, he had been receiving letters, e-mails and phone calls for years about the district and that he had been following the information for a while as a potential story. “It’s our job to serve the community ... I would never publish anything that I had doubts about.”