Holden R-III District superintendent Scott Slava announced Tuesday morning that Rebecca A. Gudde will become the new Holden High School principal effective July 1, 2007.

Gudde, presently the principal of Crest Ridge Secondary School (sixth through 12th grades), was selected for the position to be vacated by Matt Lindsey from nearly 30 applicants.

"I'm very excited about having her on board," explained Slava. "I feel she's an exceptional administrator - very professional. Her philosophy is very student oriented and she's a good communicator. These are some traits that are going to be very important as we move through our building process over the next school year."

Prior to taking the reins of the secondary principal position during a reorganization of the district last year, Gudde was the middle school principal (grades six through eight) in the 2005-2006 school year.

During an interview with the Holden Image, she stated that she applied for the HHS position because she feels the R-III district is progressive and she specifically likes the High Schools That Work program that is in place in Holden.

"I like the philosophy of the Holden School Board, which focuses on student achievement and curriculum. These are top priority items with me, the new principal explained.

During her two-year tenure at the Crest Ridge district, Gudde was the district's curriculum director and testing director.

''With the building project getting underway at Holden High School, I know the district and board were looking for somebody flexible with strong leadership qualities. I feel very comfortable leading the school through this time of growth," Gudde continued. "Although not a physical building project, I experienced the reorganization project at Crest Ridge over the last year going from a middle school/high school concept to a secondary school which included grades six through 12."

She will take over for Lindsey; who will be leaving next month for a position with the North Kansas City School District.

"I know I have some big shoes to fill following Matt," Gudde continued. "I hope that the staff and community will be as supportive of me as they were of him. He's done a great job there."

Prior to her coming to the Crest Ridge district, Gudde taught communications arts for five years at Raymore-Peculiar Middle School. In 2004, she was selected as the district's teacher of the year. She is also a graduate of the Ray-Pec Leadership Academy. At both the Missouri Accelerated Schools Conference and the Missouri Middle School Conference, Gudde was a curriculum presenter.

In her first teaching assignment from 1997-2000, she was a seventh-grade communication arts teacher at San Jacinto Intermediate School in Pasadena, TX.

The new principal's education includes an associates of arts in general studies from Houston Community College, Houston, TX; bachelor of arts in literature from University of Houston, Clear Lake, TX; and a master of education from William Woods University.

She and her husband Rob, who is employed by Roberts Dairy, have three children, Shelby, 14; Jordyn , nine; and McCanna, six months. The Guddes reside in rural Holden and both Shelby and Jordyn will attend Holden schools.

HOPE Coalition has hired a new office manger and bookkeeper, Executive Director John Roberts told board members at the regular meeting of the HOPE board held last week.

"Gayla Morris began employment with HOPE on April 17. She has become familiar with her new duties and is rapidly learning the organization's bookkeeping software. She has become a fine team member and we are looking forward to a great working relationship with her," stated Roberts.

In old business, Roberts told the board he and Morris have received training for the new job referral and social services program from Missouri Career Center Workforce Development Specialist John Benson. Roberts went on to say the program will allow them to help clients locate human services in Johnson County and beyond through the S.H.A.R.E. program as well as jobs through MCC's Great Hires.org. program. "More information about the program will be made available through the Holden Image in the coming weeks after we become more familiar with the software," added Roberts.

In new business, Roberts reported there is a temporary void in their T.A.B.E. testing and to remedy this they will be making the appropriate contacts in the near future to see that Morris is able to conduct T.A.B.E. testing. "Until then, we are referring people interested in the GED test to existing test sites in the vicinity," said Roberts.

In other old business, Roberts told board members the Community Service Center (CSC) building is still presenting problems with leakage. Roberts discussed the issue of repairing an aging building, seeking another existing building or constructing a metal building to meet the needs of the CSC. The board continued to discuss their options including the possibility of tearing down the existing building. "A professional has estimated the tear-down of the CSC at approximately $65,000. This didn't include removing parts of the flooring that likely have asbestos. We have the option of doing that ourselves or having a demolition company do it at 75 cents per square foot," remarked Roberts.

In other maintenance business, the board was informed by Roberts that Fred Christenson and Meril LaHue installed new lighting fixtures in the Community Activity Center (CAC) entry lsat month. They also straightened a large dent in the side of the CAC building caused last year when a vehicle backed into the wall.

In a follow-up report, Roberts told the board the sewer problem in the HOPE building which is leased to Fred Tock has been repaired.

In new business, it ws reported that HOPE recently ordered a new Acer computer from Walker's Variety to replace one in the CSC office which is malfunctioning. "That computer has all of the information regarding Harvester and Clothes Closet volunteers and clients. The fact that we were unable to back the computer records up made it more urgent to obtain the computer. The cost of the unit, which will more than adequately serve our needs was $769.95," stated Roberts.

In personnel business, Roberts told the board they have recently received the resignation of Georgia Jarman from the board of directors. "The by-laws state, 'in the event of resignation, the board of directors shall appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the term,'" said Roberts. He then asked board members to bring forth suggestions for a replacement and the issue would be discussed and further action taken in the near future.

In Harvesters news, Roberts told board members the HOPE volunteers had a large number of clients on the last distribution date. "We served 267 people," Roberts stated. "The turnout required distribution to be moderated a bit, but all were served. The large number also brought the Holden Police Department down to the CSC to reroute traffic to ease some blockages. I will speak to the police department next week to see if there is anything we can do to help during high tournouts."

In other new business, the board discussed changing their meeting date and time as the current time conflicts with schedules of many on the board. They decided to meet the second Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m.