Having filled a principal vacancy that has been open for a year, the Russellville School System is searching for another chief administrator for one of its other two schools.

Jane Silvey is retiring as principal of Stevenson Elementary School.

Previously Dr. Gary Stewart was selected as principal of Russellville High School. Retired educators Lowell Hammers and Joe Light have been interim principals this year following the resignation of Hal Bedel last summer. He had been in the office only one year.

Silvey is a former teacher and administrator in the Muhlenberg and Logan County schools. Her husband Barry is principal of Chandlers Elementary School.

Superintendent Donna Preston will have names of what she considers to be acceptable principal applicants to present to the Stevenson Elementary School Based Decision Making Council before she leaves office at the end of the June, she said.

The position is 'posted' until June 6. She said some applications have already come in and that she will be able to give the SBDM a choice.

The new SES principal won't be able to rely on the expertise of long-time Assistant Principal Ron Watkins as much as his or her predecessors have. Watkins is one of three assistant principals in the system whose duties in that position have either been reduced or eliminated.

Preston said Watkins will be assistant principal half of the day. The other half of his duties will be as director of pupil personnel ("truant officer") and as the district's health coordinator.

Stevie Knight, long-time Russellville Middle School assistant principal, will be in that job half the time. The rest of his days will be spent as the district's athletic director and as the system-wide Safe School and Drug Free School coordinator.

The assistant principal's position at Russellville High School has been completely eliminated. Sharon Bailey has served in that capacity most of this year, but she's one of several certified staff members who have not been guaranteed reemployment.

Preston says the RHS SBDM has made its staff allocation and that it is too late to reinstate the position now.

The JROTC program also was not funded by the SBDM, but the school board paid the cost of the program from district funds this year. No such action has yet been taken for next year.

Major Keith Haas and Sgt. James Austin have not been guaranteed employment as a result.

Austin has resigned as head girls basketball coach at the high school. Preston says the job has been posted and she would prefer to fill it with a faculty member rather than a paraprofessional.

There are also changes planned with the librarians. While SES is keeping theirs full-time, the other two schools will go to half-time.

Suzanne Nelson will be half-time librarian at RMS and will be assigned other duties within the school half a day.

The RHS job will be half-time. Bonnie Wells isn't on tenure, so she's not being guaranteed employment the remainder of the day.

Preston says several other certified and classified staff have not been promised a job yet because the school system is still waiting to get its appropriations for some federal and state programs.