As he starts his new job in August at Cardinal High School, new Principal Jeremy Hunter will feel a bit of deja-vu.
That’s because he not only graduated from the Cardinal Schools, but three of the teachers he had there as a student are still there.
“I don’t recall having any problems with them,” he quipped during the June 25 Cardinal Schools Board of Education meeting.
When asked after the meeting, Hunter declined to name the teachers, but he recalled the subjects — language arts, industrial arts and typing like it was yesterday.
Since graduating, Hunter has worked in the Euclid and Maple Heights school districts, and he is leaving his most recent position as assistant principal in the Willoughby school district.
“He has Husky blood in him,” Superintendent Scott Hunt said.
According to Hunt, 12 candidates were considered for the post and several were interviewed by a committee that included four students, two teachers and board members.
“You were on the hunt,” board member Nancy Ferguson said to Hunt, playing on his name as well as Hunter’s name.
“We were looking to see who’s going to fit here,” Hunt said. “If not, it reflects on the people who hired that person.”
Ferguson added, “He was my top pick of the candidates we interviewed.
Following the meeting, the board met in executive session to discuss personnel contracts, including Hunter’s. No action was planned at that meeting’s conclusion.
Hunter’s salary will be $82,000 per year.
The superintendent proposed adding 10 days to Hunter’s contract prior to the opening of school to give him time to get up to speed.
“It’s almost July and we have a lot to do prior to opening school, including hiring a guidance counselor,” Hunt explained.
Ferguson said she opposed the 10-day addition.
“When you take a job in industry, you start without a signing bonus,” she explained.
In other business, the board approved changing its student bus transportation to a two-tier system and eliminating some from its fleet of 20 buses.
Five older buses will be traded in for $2,000 each to lease three new ones at a total cost of $48,600 per year for five years. After the five years, the school can purchase the leased buses for $1 each.
The new buses are expected to arrive in October.
The plan also calls for ordering two more new buses for the 2015-2016 school year.
“I’m so glad we’re moving away from this nightmare,” Hunt said.
To date this year, $92,500 was spent on major and minor repairs to the fleet, Hunt said. He said he hopes to see next year’s bus repair bills cut in half.
With the two-tiered transportation system, school bus routes are being reconfigured. Hunt said parents will be notified of the changes.