By Jeremy Adragna
C & G Staff Writer

MADISON HEIGHTS — Longtime schoolteacher Joanne Vader was named to take over the principal’s post at Halfman Elementary School last week.

She takes over for the school’s outgoing principal and coach, Brian Canfield, who resigned last week after accepting a principal job at Schroeder Elementary School in Troy.

Halfman School, tucked in a south end neighborhood, will once again be thrust into a massive makeover this summer as administrators prepare to install Vader, move in three grades of new students and look for ways to overcome perennial parking troubles. 

Vader’s appointment did not come without controversy, as a bloc of board members attempted to instead replace Canfield with one-time Madison High School Assistant Principal Gary Vettori, despite a recommendation from Superintendent Paul Rogers in favor of Vader.

Vader was chosen, Rogers said, by a small committee of administrators who reviewed applications and conducted five interviews in the weeks leading up the recommendation made at a Board of Education meeting on June 23.  The group also interviewed Vettori.

“She’s worked at five different schools,” said Rogers of Vader, who has worked in Madison Schools since 1973. “ She’s been instrumental in the implementation of Focused Instruction in the district. She’s considered an instructional leader by her colleagues who offered a great deal of support for her candidacy.”

Vettori’s post was eliminated in late April as part of a $340,000 cutback in administrative costs instituted by Rogers and approved by the Board of Education that also included teacher buyouts.

However, some on the board wanted to institute Vettori in the principal position instead of hiring a teacher without experience in the post. Some also said that Vettori, a longtime employee,  deserved to know whether he has a future in Madison District Schools.

“I don’t believe (Vettori) is going to get the job,” said Board member Keith Beguhn, who led the charge for Vettori’s appointment. “I’ll be honest with you. But, I want this board to commit one way or another because I think they deserve it. These are people that have been in the district for years.”

Still, the majority on the board felt Vader was the right candidate for the position and that the administrative committee made the right decision in recommending her.

“I have a problem,” said Board member Cindy Rothwell Holder. “Our job is to take the recommendation of the superintendent and vote yea or nay. Our job is not to hire and fire on our own.”

The Board of Education also voted in recent weeks to eliminate a clustered school format in the coming school year and revert to two neighborhood schools. This fall, students that once attended the split Halfman and Edison schools will attend one of the two schools depending on what neighborhood they live in.

Each school will house kindergarten through sixth-grade students in the coming year — a format chosen by parents who took part in a non-scientific study conducted by district administrators earlier this year.

Vader will take on the challenge of returning Halfman to a neighborhood school and helping eliminate parking problems that have had parents tied up in front of the school, year after year.

The district has already made small inroads to helping eliminate the parking problems.

Early plans indicate the district intends to create drop-off lanes on both Brockton and Hudson avenues to shift a drop-off area from the high-traffic Couzens Avenue to residential side streets. Officials also said that a fenced-in plot of asphalt known as the “Magic Square” could also be converted to a parking lot to accommodate 40 cars.

“Nobody knows more then me how difficult it is to, after so many years, start a new position,” said Vader to the Board of Education. “But, I know that I can do it with the help of my colleagues, the support of the board and the parents of the community. I really feel I have an advantage in that regard because I know so many families already. I have a wonderful staff. I can feel the support already. I know I have big shoes to fill.”

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Adragna at jadragna@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1101.