The Grand Forks School Board on Monday appointed Joel Schleicher principal of South Middle School.
His appointment will go into effect July 1. Schleicher replaces Nancy Dutot, who served as South's principal for 26 years.
Schleicher currently serves as the school district's technology director, a role he's held for nearly seven years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also worked as an associate principal at Red River High School and Valley Middle School.
In an April 8 memo to board members, Superintendent Terry Brenner said he knew the projected applicant pool for the position would be "shallow," so he looked into internal candidates.
"(I)t did not take long for Dr. Schleicher's name to rise to the top," Brenner wrote. "Given his experience at the middle school level as a teacher and as an associate principal, along with his skill and knowledge to make transformational learning happen at the classroom level, Dr. Schleicher has the requisite skills to be successful at South Middle School."
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The move comes as the district's technology department undergoes restructuring "in concert with" the curriculum, instruction, assessment and professional development department, Brenner noted.
As head of the school district's technology department, Schleicher said he aimed to maintain a focus on providing a "high-quality, 21st Century education for all students," according to a letter he penned for the district's website.
In the 2017-18 school year, South enrolled 558 students, according to the district's enrollment analysis. The school has the capacity for more than 800 students.
Dutot, South's previous principal, has served as a school district administrator for more than three decades. She was the first female secondary administrator within the district.
In other school district news, the School Board heard cost estimates for providing student transportation in house. The district currently contracts with Dietrich Bus Service to bus students to and from school. Students pay $1 for each ride.
If the district were to purchase, operate and maintain a fleet of school buses, it could cost $3.25 million, according to estimates from Scott Berge, the district's business manager. In the 2017-18 school year, the district paid about $1.6 million for student transportation, according to Berge.
Given the district's current financial situation and mounting facility costs, it would take "a lot of discussion about the right strategies" to provide transportation in house, Berge said.
Berge's estimates didn't look into the cost of eliminating the pay-per-ride system. In its 2018-19 budget, the district estimated receiving about $100,000 in revenue from student tickets.
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Berge performed the cost estimates at the request of School Board member Cynthia Shabb, according to an April 8 memo to the School Board.
