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Kotzebue principal resigns, leaves post

January 20th 3:25 am | Carey Restino Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

Kotzebue Middle High School's recently-hired principal, J. Lee Garner, left his post abruptly this month after less than a year on the job.

"He had personal reasons for wanting to return to Texas," said Northwest Arctic Borough School District Superintendent Norman Eck. "We didn't want to stand in his way. We are grateful for the time he spent here and wish him well. He did a very good job and we were pleased to have him."

Eck said Garner's abrupt departure was not the result of any disciplinary action or controversy, just someone who needed to leave for personal reasons. It's not uncommon in his district, he said.

"When people are new to the Arctic, things come up in their lives that can cause something like this to happen," he said.

For the rest of the year, Assistant Principal Mike Lane and Assistant Middle School Principal Paul Bartos will fill the shoes of the departed principal.

After that, Eck said, the school board will decide if it will replace Garner or restructure the staffing at the school.

"They will carry the school forward," Eck said.

Eck said that while the district has improved its teacher and administrator retention rates in recent years, many school staff stay two to four years and then move on. About a third of the staff come up to the Arctic, find they love it, and stay. And a smaller portion leave before finishing out the year.

"When you are away from your family, it is very remote and dark and cold," Eck said, saying he is sympathetic with the fact that the school positions in the Arctic aren't for everyone. Eck said he's been in Kotzebue for 14 years now, and he certainly never expected to stay that long when he started.

Eck said a few years ago, the turnover rate was closer to 35 to 40 percent per year. Now it has dropped down to about 20 percent. Urban and suburban districts have a turnover rate of around 5 percent, he said. He attributes that drop to the sagging economy as well as folks in the district working hard to improve retention.

"We do what we can to take care of people," he said, adding that the district is also working harder to select people who are a good fit for the area.

Still, with the turnover rate, over the span of a few years, more than half of your teachers are new. The departing teachers take with them hundreds of thousands of dollars investment in professional development. That means training subjects must be covered over and over again, and staff and students are constantly adjusting to new faces. But, Eck said, while the district will do what it can to encourage people to stay, turnover is a fact of life in rural school districts, especially those in northern Alaska.

"Things happen in life," he said.

 

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