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CLEAR Temp: 62 °F Wind: ENE at 5 mph Monday, May 19, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend April 16, 2003 Middle school principals chosen By JILL BRISKEY Mail Tribune The Medford School Board on Tuesday voted to replace its two middle school principals with in-house employees instead of hiring people from outside the district. Hedrick Middle School Principal Marjory Lininger will retire in June, and Tuesday night the board agreed to pass the reins to South Medford High School Assistant Principal Paul Cataldo. McLoughlin Middle School Principal Craig Barabash was hired two years ago and is taking a one-year leave of absence to attend to personal family issues. Amy Tiger, who is an assistant principal at McLoughlin, will become the interim principal while Barabash is away. "Both Amy and Paul are extremely popular," said Superintendent Steve Wisely. "We’re very lucky to have them." Cataldo began his teaching career at the Hood River school district, and in the mid 1980s became a teacher at Eagle Point High School. He eventually transferred to Medford, where he served as an assistant principal at McLoughlin. When McLoughlin Principal Cynda Rickert left to become South Medford High School’s new principal in 1997, Cataldo joined her as the high school’s assistant principal. "I’m very happy. This is a great opportunity," said Cataldo, who added that he has always wanted to return to the middle school level. "I love middle schools. It’s where I want to be." Tiger has worked for the district for 15 years, first as a teacher at South Medford High School and later as a dean at Wilson and Howard elementary schools. She has been the assistant principal at McLoughlin for five years. "I’m extremely pleased with this opportunity," said Tiger, who added that she has never regretted her decision to join Medford. "I fell in love with the school that day, and I’ve been in love with the district ever since." It was unclear Tuesday night what Cataldo or Tiger’s salaries would be. Typically, the district would have filled the positions at Hedrick and McLoughlin by advertising the openings and narrowing down a list of the top applicants. But massive budget cuts have forced the district to place a freeze on most vacant positions. In the case of the middle school principal vacancies, the district opted to shuffle its employees rather than open the job to applicants outside of the school system. This week, Wisely said staff will begin looking at ways to fill the soon-to-be vacant assistant principal positions at South and McLoughlin with even more shuffling. "We’re taking this one step at a time," said Wisely. "It’s our plan to recommend that those (assistant principal) positions be filled." In the past two years, officials have slashed $7.4 million from the budget and eliminated more than 90 positions. It’s still unclear what kind of deficit the district will face in 2003-04. Wisely estimates the district will probably cut anywhere from $5.4 to $7.1 million from next year’s general operating budget. That amount could grow even larger if allocations to the state’s education fund are reduced. Because labor represents 85 percent of the district’s budget, the majority of the cuts will be made by eliminating positions, including cooks, assistants, janitors, teachers and administrators, Wisely added. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S