A New Administration | Video

Kristin Clouston | 8/20/2012

Mandan Public Schools start class on Wednesday, and the district will be starting the 2012 school year with an unprecedented change. Former Superintendent Wilfred Volesky, Business Manager Joe Lukach and Transportation Director Gordon Berge all retired this spring, which means all of Mandan`s administrators are serving in their positions for the very first time.

You could say Mandan`s administration team has a vested interest in our schools.

"Dr. Bitz, Mr.Linn and Mrs. Schaefbauer all live and pay taxes in Mandan and among the three of them, they have eight children enrolled in the Mandan School District," said school board president Kirsten Baesler.

Superintendent Mike Bitz had served as assistant superintendent for the past two years and has kept a close eye on enrollment projections.

"We hired RSP and Associates out of Kansas City to come up and do our demographics. It`s the same one Bismarck used and West Fargo used and they projected us to have 502 new students over the next five years."

They said they would have 78 additional students this year, but right now they have 135, which means the district had to hire additional staff and move some classes around.

"We added first grade out at Lewis and Clark and we moved the kindergarten to Fort Lincoln. Our idea is to move teachers and adults, not students. We want the experience for student to be consistent. If they`re familiar with a school building we want them to stay there," Bitz said.

Assistant superintendent Jeff Lind was the superintendent in Rugby and Business Manager Christi Schaefbauer managed Mobridge-Pollock Public Schools in South Dakota. The three have been working together for the past six weeks and the school board president says she`s confident Mandan will have a seamless start to the year.

Mandan will also be getting a new facilities and transportation director in September.

COMMENT ON THIS STORY

BACK TO NEWS | BACK TO BISMARCK STORIES