SALAMANCA — The search for a new leader at Salamanca High School is ongoing in anticipation of Principal Chris Siebert’s retirement in June.
Dr. Mark Beehler, district superintendent, updated the Board of Education on April 16 on the search process. He said a diverse group of stakeholders including students, parents, teachers and members from each of the district’s professional associations on the first round of interviews last week.
“We have a second round of interviews coming up Thursday, and then we anticipate a final round on next Tuesday evening,” he said. “By the end of next week or the following week, we should be able to announce the next principal for the high school.”
Beehler said it’s important for the community to understand the district’s search process that has been occurring and will continue in the search for a new principal.
Chris Siebert
The school board accepted Siebert’s notice of retirement at its Jan. 23 meeting. He was appointed to the high school principal position in 2017.
Siebert began with the district in 1993 as a seventh grade science teacher. In 1999 he worked as a high school biology teacher until his assistant principal appointment in 2004, which he held until his latest role. Siebert also served as the district’s athletic director from 2004 to 2016.
The school board approved community education course offerings for the spring as well as the positions for summer programs ranging from academic instructors to adventure and STEM camps. Beehler said the postings for those positions will be available soon.
“The summer offerings are going to be consistent with what we’ve done in the past with a few modifications,” he said. “For our students and parents, there is an awful lot happening again this summer, and much more information will be coming out shortly.”
Beehler also encouraged all of the district staff to keep up with those postings and see if they can participate in them if available.
Regarding budget preparations, Beehler said there are schools across Western New York and the state that have announced layoffs amid spending plan challenges that have resulted in student walkouts and protests.
“I want to assure, like we did at the last board meeting, that our budget for next year has zero layoffs. In fact, we are adding staff in critical areas,” he said. “The budget fully includes every single position we have this year as well as additional positions across the board.”
