Paul Kaiser is the next superintendent of Westfield Washington Schools and he will start almost immediately.
At a special meeting, the board approved Kaiser’s hiring in a vote of 5-0. Although originally expected to start in July, Kaiser will begin the new role on Wednesday.
Per a public notice previously published by the school district, his annual base salary will be $185,000. Additionally, he will receive $12,000 in annual stipends plus insurance and retirement benefits at an estimated cost of more than $60,000 for a total package of more than $257,000 in the first year.
But Kaiser wasn’t the only central office leadership hire made Tuesday night. At the same meeting the board also approved the hiring of John Atha as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Atha starts Wednesday as well and his base salary is $150,000 per year, per spokesperson Joshua Andrews.
Updated: 12:45 AM EDT May 26, 2021
WESTFIELD, Ind Westfield-Washington Schools has selected a new leader.
Paul A. Kaiser, Ph.D. is the district’s new superintendent, effective May 26.
Dr. Kaiser, with 40 years experience in education, was superintendent of Beech Grove City Schools for 13 years.
He started as a teacher at Kokomo Haworth High School, became an assistant principal position at Eastern High School in Greentown and was principal at Decatur Central High School. He held the assistant superintendent role at Noblesville Schools before being named superintendent of Monroe-Gregg Schools.
“I am excited to be ‘coming home’ to Westfield and Hamilton County as the superintendent of Westfield Washington Schools. When I served as Assistant Superintendent at Noblesville Schools, my family and I lived in Westfield and my daughters were proud Shamrocks! I am honored to have the privilege of serving the Westfield community as superintendent of schools.
First published May 5 in in.chalkbeat.org, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for newsletter here.
Indiana schools will receive more money for special education programs over the next two years, an increase educators say is long overdue and applaud for coming at a crucial moment for students. Â
Lawmakers increased funding for special education by $196 million, an average 10.8% yearly increase, in the stateâs new two-year budget, part of a massive increase in overall education spending thanks in part to an infusion of federal stimulus funds. They also approved an 18% increase worth $5 million each year for English language learners.
Marion County Superintendents Say No To Testing
MARION COUNTY, Ind. It’s not time for testing, it’s time to catch-up. That’s the message nine Marion County school superintendents are sending to the Indiana Department of Education.
The superintendents sent a letter to the department, which says that students could study and catch-up on the learning they’ve missed over the past year, instead of taking standardize tests. The superintendents are also concerned with physically conducting school wide tests.
Pike Township Superintendent Flora Reichanandter tells WISH-TV that this spring is a chance at catching up, not testing material students may not know.