The Cottonwood-Oak Creek and Mingus Union High school districts’ boards approved hiring Pamela Fenstamaker May 1 as a shared special education director.

Fentamaker’s hire is expected to add to the continuity of special education between the two districts while also saving money. In the meantime, the two districts are working on an agreement, which determines the technicalities of how they will split Fenstamaker’s salary and where her office will be.

Fenstamaker’s official start date is Sunday, July 1.

MUHSD Superintendent Tim Foist said Fenstamaker was selected for the position out of a pool of nearly 20 applicants because of the “depth and width” of her work experience. He specifically mentioned her time in a kindergarten to 12th grade district, her experience running a monitoring program, her connections at the state level, and her interpersonal skills as being important factors in her hire.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, May 9, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.