The district office will see familiar faces in different places this new year as the school board approved an administrative restructure, consolidating two administrative positions into one and making room for an administrator on special assignment.

On Monday night with a 4-1 vote, the Albert Lea Area Schools board approved the restructure after school board member Jill Marin asked for the contracts to be pulled from the consent agenda items to allow for discussion.

Under the new model, current Director of Elementary Services Mary Jo Dorman will become the district’s executive director of teaching and learning, a position that combines her current role with that of Kathy Niebuhr’s, current director of secondary programs for Albert Lea Area Schools.

“One of the concerns I have as superintendent in the district is, since we have a director of K-5 and a director of 6-12, we become siloed when we’re talking K-12 alignment,” Superintendent Mike Funk said at the board meeting. “We’re currently the only district within the Big 9 that does not have an overall director of teaching and learning.”

Funk said he wants an executive director who can focus strategically on long-term and operational issues for the district.

Niebuhr would take over the executive director of administrative services position soon to be vacated by Jim Quiram. Quiram is retiring from the district and has accepted a new position with Prior Lake Savage Area Schools.

Niebuhr comes to the position having served in several others during her career both in and out of the classroom, including a background in technology and human rights policy.

“It’s exciting to move into another role in District 241,” Niebuhr said. “… I have been in the district 32 years and am excited at a new opportunity. … My goal is to meet and exceed the district’s needs moving forward.”

Dorman was not available for comment.

The executive director of teaching and learning will also have assistance from a teacher on special assignment as coordinator of curriculum and instruction. This coordinator, whom Funk said the district intends to hire internally, would continue to receive his or her current salary. According to the superintendent, the position’s incentive could be experience helpful for a teacher interested in becoming a principal someday or for someone interested more in curriculum than teaching. He said the position is an example of the district’s attempts to provide opportunities for teacher leaders to grow and develop.

The restructure, which moves from three administrative positions to two with the consolidation of K-12 positions, will save the district approximately $25,000, with the help of a teacher on special assignment, Funk estimated.

However, some school board members were hesitant of the salaries associated with the administrative changes. The proposed base salary for both the executive director of teaching and learning and the executive director of administrative services is $129,000. The executive director of administrative services salary would be the same as it is currently, according to Funk.

Both contracts include a financial incentive for those holding the position to obtain a valid Minnesota superintendent license.

Funk said these salaries are below the Big 9 average for both positions. The executive director of administrative services also handles the work of a technology director — a position often separated in other districts. Albert Lea Area Schools’ $10,000 technology stipend bumps the salary above that of a human resources director, but well below cost of employing two separate individuals.

For Marin, basing the salaries off Big 9 averages is a catch-22: One area raises its salaries, then others follow suit.

“Everybody’s just raising salaries, and why?” Marin said. “Because everybody else is raising salaries. To me, that’s not a good enough reason to raise salaries.”

School board clerk Neal Skaar and member Angie Hanson also expressed some concern at the numbers, though only Marin voted against approving both two-year contracts.

“I share your, you know, concerns with the size of the salaries, but … they are consistent with the going rate for those positions, so I guess I can’t contest that,” Skaar said.

Hanson said while the number does seem like a jump from a previous salary, the executive director of teaching and learning would also have added responsibilities.

Both administrative positions were posted internally only, another point Marin objected to. Posting externally and internally allows for the greatest pool of qualified candidates, she said.

“When you have two qualified people sitting in the current office that you’re currently working who are interested in something like that, it was an easy decision,” Funk said in a later interview. “It really was.”

According to Funk, hiring an external director of teaching and learning would mean time spent catching that candidate up to speed on the district and where it is at.

“It was really very clear-cut,” he said. “Both of them have significant credibility in the district — well-respected — and they’ve done a great job for us in their previous roles. We’re just fortunate that we had them in place.”