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Heath Morrison spoke Tuesday to a large crowd inside the Donald W. Reynolds Community Non-Profit Center in Incline Village. The speech marked the new superintendent's first address in Incline after taking over for Paul Dugan as the Washoe County School District's boss Aug. 1.
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Incline parents on Tuesday expressed concern about possible plans to replace John Clark as principal at Incline High School with an administrator for all of Incline's schools.
That was one of many comments and concerns heard by recently-hired Washoe County School District Superintendent Heath Morrison, who spoke to a crowd of about 55 on Tuesday at the Donald W. Reynold's Community Non-Profit Center about his plan for the future of the district.
The idea to hire a K-12 administrator was floated by Washoe County School District deputy superintendent Rick Borba last week when Clark announced his retirement.
“The important thing to remember is we won't make these decisions without community input,” Morrison said. “And no decisions have been made yet.”
Morrison said the decision isn't budget-related and said there are some intriguing possibilities a K-12 administrator would offer, including the ability to offer the position to talented candidates in a national search.
Incline's shrinking enrollment caused a number of parents to air the same concerns — namely, what if Incline High School cannot offer a full slate of courses?
Kathy Vomund, mother of a sophomore at Incline High, said she was worried about course offerings restricting to the point students would have to turn to online learning to supplement their education.
“My concern is that now the schedule has become much more narrow,” Vomund said. “It's much more difficult for kids to fit in those classes they need, and I'm mostly worried about them missing AP courses because of the schedule.”
Vomund said the district's online offerings need more organization to be an effective teaching tool for students.
Parent Lionel Pober expressed displeasure about the district's online offerings, complaining about the WOLF program's lack of instructional organization.
“I had a daughter take the online course and it was not a very positive experience,” Pober said. “I don't want to have a distance learning or online experience which is negative.”
Morrison said district administration would examine the distance learning alternatives and continue to improve the offerings.
“We're just going to have to get creative and realize there are just some classes you can't offer online, and we'll need to make the most fiscally responsible decisions from there,” Morrison said.
He reaffirmed his commitment to helping the International Baccalaureate program succeed at Incline, and pointed out a successful partnership with IB at his last school district in Montgomery County, Md.
That was one of many comments and concerns heard by recently-hired Washoe County School District Superintendent Heath Morrison, who spoke to a crowd of about 55 on Tuesday at the Donald W. Reynold's Community Non-Profit Center about his plan for the future of the district.
The idea to hire a K-12 administrator was floated by Washoe County School District deputy superintendent Rick Borba last week when Clark announced his retirement.
“The important thing to remember is we won't make these decisions without community input,” Morrison said. “And no decisions have been made yet.”
Morrison said the decision isn't budget-related and said there are some intriguing possibilities a K-12 administrator would offer, including the ability to offer the position to talented candidates in a national search.
Incline's shrinking enrollment caused a number of parents to air the same concerns — namely, what if Incline High School cannot offer a full slate of courses?
Kathy Vomund, mother of a sophomore at Incline High, said she was worried about course offerings restricting to the point students would have to turn to online learning to supplement their education.
“My concern is that now the schedule has become much more narrow,” Vomund said. “It's much more difficult for kids to fit in those classes they need, and I'm mostly worried about them missing AP courses because of the schedule.”
Vomund said the district's online offerings need more organization to be an effective teaching tool for students.
Parent Lionel Pober expressed displeasure about the district's online offerings, complaining about the WOLF program's lack of instructional organization.
“I had a daughter take the online course and it was not a very positive experience,” Pober said. “I don't want to have a distance learning or online experience which is negative.”
Morrison said district administration would examine the distance learning alternatives and continue to improve the offerings.
“We're just going to have to get creative and realize there are just some classes you can't offer online, and we'll need to make the most fiscally responsible decisions from there,” Morrison said.
He reaffirmed his commitment to helping the International Baccalaureate program succeed at Incline, and pointed out a successful partnership with IB at his last school district in Montgomery County, Md.
