Principal candidates seek top job at JMS

Talk about it

Jamestown residents were able to meet the three finalists for the job of Jamestown Middle School principal on Tuesday.

Current principal Joe Hegland is retiring after this year.

Included in three is John Lynch, current director of the James Valley Career and Technology Center.

“I know the system, I know the people and I’m up for the challenge of replacing Mr. Hegland,” Lynch said.

Lynch was vice principal of Jamestown Middle School from 2001 to 2006. He has 11 years of service in the Jamestown School District, and a total of 22 years in education.

“I felt I liked the change and I was told I’d make a good principal,” Lynch said.

Also up for the job as middle school principal is Gail Wold, current principal of the middle school in Beulah, N.D.

“I would be excited to have the opportunity to work in this system,” Wold said.

Wold who has been principal in Beulah for 20 years, has family in the Fargo-Moorhead area, which is one reason for applying to the opening here.

While Beulah is about one-fifth the size of Jamestown, she still said the small-town appeal of this community remains.

The final candidate is Marcia Bartok, who for the past 11 years has been principal in Williston, N.D.

“I love the school in Williston but the change in Williston doesn’t fit my personal life,” she said of the oil boom.

Previously Bartok worked in the Gary, Ind., school district.

Here she said it’s going to be hard to replace Hegland.

“Joe’s shoes are going to be huge to fill and with that said I think I bring the experience and background that will add to what Joe has done,” Bartok said.

All three candidates face the task of getting Jamestown Middle School to meet Adequate Yearly Progress as mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind.

The middle school has failed to meet AYP for the past two years, which means additional dollars must be spent on professional development in the school.

All three candidates said they would work with teachers to fix the problem.

Superintendent Bob Toso said the choice will be difficult, but that a committee should have a recommendation for the School Board at Monday’s meeting.

“You want it to be a tough choice and we feel we got excellent candidates,” Toso said.

Sun reporter Ben Rodgers can be reached at 701-952-8455 or by email at brodgers@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, news, education