The Haines school board approved a mentorship program for superintendent Tony Habra Tuesday at a reduced cost to one proposed last month.
The Alaska Superintendents Association offers a coaching program for superintendents in their first and second years in the position. The original proposal included several in-person meetings and once-a-week phone calls between Habra and John Holst, mentor and retired superintendent from Sitka. The entire program would have cost the school district $6,325.
The school board delayed voting on that funding last month and revisited it Tuesday. The board unanimously replaced the original proposal with another to pay $1,300 for a trimmed-down mentorship program. That modified program will include Habra consulting with Holst by phone every two weeks.
School board president Anne Marie Palmieri said if it gets to the point where Habra feels he needs more contact with or guidance from Holst, he should not be afraid to ask the board for it. “We want to make sure you get the support you need,” Palmieri said.