Canton Bringing Back Six Teaching Positions
CANTON - Thanks in part to federal funding, six new teachers will be hired by the Canton Central School District before students return to school Sept. 7.
In June, the school board agreed to cut costs by eliminating the equivalent of 11.2 teaching and staff positions. At its July 9 meeting, however, the board reinstated two special-education aides for special-needs students. School Superintendent William A. Gregory said the district's Committee on Special Education recommended those jobs be filled.
"We had two students move into the district who needed one-on-one teacher aides for their programs," he said. "The funding will come from within the existing budget. It will come out of the special education payroll line."
A third aide was hired to fill the job as academic opportunity room monitor.
Five of the teaching positions being filled with new hires became vacant through retirements, resignations or shuffling of staff to different jobs within the district.
Funding received from the federal Education Jobs Bill has allowed Canton Central to fill one more elementary teaching job, bringing the total of new teachers to six. The funding also has been used to reinstate a half-time technology teaching position that was to be eliminated.
The bill, signed by President Barack Obama on Aug. 10, was designed to save or create education jobs.
Suzanne Creurer, who previously held the part-time technology job, will return to the position.
Joseph D. McDonough, former high school dean of students, started his job as Banford Elementary School principal July 1. Viola M. Schmid-Doyle, a longtime high school social studies teacher, was hired to fill the dean of students job at Hugh C. Williams High School.
The district has hired five teachers and is advertising to fill one more elementary position created by the retirement of fifth-grade teacher Daniel Stromgren, he said.
Teachers return Wednesday and Thursday Sept. 1 and 2 for staff development days, while students in prekindergarten through 12th grade start after Labor Day weekend.
Districtwide, student enrollment is about 1,371, slightly higher than last year's 1,352, Mr. Gregory said.
Prekindergarten has 70 youngsters enrolled compared with 69 a year ago.
