Asa Wood principal resigning
by Kootenai Valley Record
February 22, 2009
Asa Wood Elementary principal Marjorie O’Brien-Johnson has announced plans to resign her position as of the end of the current school year.
O’Brien-Johnson was hired prior to the start of the 2007-2008 school year. She moved from Stevensville, where she had served as principal of Lone Rock School and where her husband still lives and works. In a letter dated Feb. 11, O’Brien-Johnson told Libby School District superintendent Kirby Maki that her husband has "even more limited employment opportunities" in Libby because of the current economic recession and that "maintaining two homes and traveling between Libby and Stevensville is eroding the support we want to provide to the three children we have in college."
O’Brien-Johnson’s concerns about her mother’s health also influenced her decision, Maki said.
"We’re a good school, and she’s been a part of that," Maki said. "I appreciate her grit and determination, and I respect her decision to resign. Family’s got to be a critical factor."
Maki noted that O’Brien-Johnson took over Asa Wood at a difficult time and was faced with curriculum changes and the need to comply with new federal mandates.
"It’s not easy, and things haven’t been a bed of roses," Maki said. "It’s been tough, but we’ve made improvements."
Despite declining enrollment in recent years, Libby remains one of Montana’s larger school districts, and administrative job openings tend to draw interest from around the state, Maki said. There may also be interest in the job from current staff members or people in the community, he said.
"I think there will be a wide array of good, solid candidates to choose from for that job," he said.
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Editor’s Note: See the February 17, 2009 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, now on Tuesday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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