The principal at Nome-Beltz has resigned for personal reasons after about six months on the job. Edwin “Chip” Sharpe’s last day as head of the high school will be Jan. 15.
“Unfortunately, one of his family members is going through some health issues that he needs to tend to,” said Superintendent Shawn Arnold. “He’ll be returning back to Utah with them to make sure they’re taken care of.”
Arnold said the district has already begun searching for a new principal and will consider outside applicants as well as candidates within Nome Public Schools.
With the entire state short on qualified administrators, though, he said there may not be many applicants right away — especially midway through the school year.
“But we’re confident that we’ll find somebody that’s the right fit and plans to stay with the school for a while,” Arnold said.
Finding someone who will stay is particularly important to the district, given recent instability in the position.
“It’s been about six principals in the last seven years,” Arnold said. “There is a concern about turnover here.”
While Sharpe’s departure comes down to family matters, Arnold said compensation is often part of the problem.
“Nome Public Schools isn’t as competitive as many other rural districts, just basically because of the funding mechanism,” he said. “We depend on our local municipality. We don’t get as much funding from the state. So we can’t often compete against other rural districts because they can offer higher salaries or greater benefits.”
Arnold said the district is working to make more competitive offers and cut down on turnover in the long term.
For right now, though, he said it’s unclear whether or not Nome-Beltz will have a new principal this school year. If hiring from outside, the district may have to wait for Sharpe’s replacement to finish the spring semester elsewhere and start in the fall.
In the meantime, administrative duties at Nome-Beltz will fall to Assistant Principal Beth Sandefur and John Berkeley, the district’s director of federal programs and instruction.
