District shuffles principal deck

The school superintendent has hired principals for Colony and Palmer high schools as well as Wasilla Middle, following the recommendations of school-level selection committees.

Next fall, Chugiak High School assistant principal Cydney Duffin will take over at Colony High, interim Palmer High principal Wolfgang Winter will stay on as the school's permanent leader and Safe Schools/Health Students grant coordinator Amy Valentine-Spargo will become Wasilla Middle's principal.

"We're extremely pleased with the committees' selections," Superintendent Pat Chesbro said last week. "We believe all three administrators will provide excellent leadership within our schools, as well as within our community."

The vacant positions at Palmer and Colony high schools became the subject of much controversy during recent months, with some parents and teachers accusing Chesbro of trying to sidestep the selection committee process.

Most of the frustration stemmed from the ongoing troubles at Colony High, where Bill Harlow was removed as principal last year following two separate cases of teachers who were convicted of having sexual relations with students.

Following a district investigation, Harlow was reassigned to central administration and assistant principal Mark Okeson was involuntarily transferred to Wasilla High, switching places with that school's assistant principal. Okeson has since entered into arbitration with the district over the matter.

At the same time, Palmer High principal Mac Whyte was named Colony's interim principal.

When the Colony position became open for a permanent hire this year, Okeson as well as Colony Middle principal John J. Miller applied and were rejected by the superintendent without being considered by the selection committee.

"This information greatly disturbs me," Colony parent Diane Paoletti wrote to the school board. "[Chesbro's] unethical approach and misuse of power used were not in the best interest of those who should always matter most … the students."

The administration, however, defended the process and said issues such as districtwide needs and individual qualifications were part of the superintendent's decision.

At that time, some Palmer High parents and teachers said they did not want Whyte back at their school and felt they should have the same chance at choosing their own principal as other schools. In the end, Whyte chose to move to another Alaska school district and the Palmer High position was opened to the normal application process.

In light of the ongoing public concern, the school board reviewed the district's hiring policy and selection committee process.

The board did little to revise the role or makeup of the committee, which now includes a nonvoting school board member and, at the high school level, two students. As they did in the past, principal selection committees also include teachers, classified staff and parents or community members.

According to the policy, the superintendent conducts interviews and reference checks and then refers at least three applicants to the committee for review. The committee then recommends their top candidate to the superintendent, who has the final say, but typically has followed the committee's advice, as in these three most recent selections.

Duffin, who will become Colony's principal, is currently the assistant principal of curriculum at Chugiak High School and has also worked as assistant principal in staff services and activities for the Anchorage School District.

Winter served as interim principal at Palmer High School for the past year and before that was the school's assistant principal.

Valentine-Spargo, who will lead Wasilla Middle, currently coordinates grants for the school district's Safe Schools/Healthy Students program. She has experience as both a teacher and school counselor and during the past two years has helped develop the Juvenile Assessment Center, an agency that provides free counseling and crisis intervention to Mat-Su children and families.