RAPID RIVER — The Rapid River Board of Education has completed its evaluation of Superintendent Jay Kulbertis for 2017-18. This evaluation was less positive than those the board has given Kulbertis in the past.

The board used the Michigan Association of School Boards’ Superintendent Evaluation Tool for the first time this year. The board adopted this tool in 2017.

The Rapid River Board of Education’s evaluation ranked Kulbertis’ performance from March 2017 to February 2018 in various subcategories on a scale of one to four. On this scale, scores of 1 represented “ineffective” performance, scores of 2 indicated “minimally effective” performance, scores of 3 represented “effective” performance, and scores of 4 indicated “highly effective” performance.

This year, Kulbertis received scores of 2.7 for Governance and Board Relations, 2.5 for Community Relations, 3.4 for Staff Relations, 3.2 for Business and Finance, 3.2 for Instructional Leadership, 3 for Student Growth, and 3 for Progress Toward District-Wide Goals from the Rapid River Board of Education. His overall adjusted score was 75.5 percent.

“We had some tough items to consider in this year’s performance, resulting in the lowest evaluation Dr. Kulbertis has received from our board since joining the district in 2012,” Rapid River Board of Education President Michelle Denkins wrote in a statement. Overall adjusted scores between 75 percent and 89 percent are considered “effective” under the new evaluation system.

Issues considered by the board included the role Kulbertis played in the suspension of Rapid River’s early college program and the loss of about four full-time equivalents after a mentoring course was found to be misclassified as experiential learning during a regular pupil accounting audit.

“We’ve made the necessary changes in how we’re classifying that course,” Kulbertis said of the latter issue.

The board considered needed improvements to the management of the district’s buildings and grounds, as well.

Positive factors the board took into account while preparing Kulbertis’ performance review included “labor relations, overall finance and budgeting, and strong working relationship with staff.” Denkins also noted the board believes Kulbertis will take steps to deal with the aforementioned issues in the future.

“We are confident Dr. Kulbertis will bring marked improvements to the table in the coming year,” she wrote.

Kulbertis said he appreciates the board’s work in preparing this evaluation.

“Given all that transpired this school year, I think the board worked really hard to carefully consider … each component of the evaluation,” he said, adding that plans are in place to move forward in the 2018-19 school year.