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Schools

Shuffle afoot for school leaders

A new assistant superintendent is named, so are other top administrators.

By EDDY RAMIREZ
Published March 29, 2006

INVERNESS - Superintendent Sandra "Sam" Himmel has shaken the structure of the school district administration again.

On Tuesday, she announced that Mary Curry will become the new assistant superintendent. Linda Kelley, who serves in that role, is retiring at the end of the school year.

Several other administrators will move into new positions at the district office, including Carol Mainor, who has served as principal at Hernando Elementary School for eight years. She will oversee curriculum education at all elementary schools.

Also Tuesday, the School Board discused hiring a new attorney after the death of Richard "Spike" Fitzpatrick last week. Fitzpatrick had served as the board's attorney for 28 years.

Last month, Himmel unveiled a new administrative structure that more closely aligns departments and the responsibilities of the district's top administrators. The announcement triggered speculation about who would fill the revised administrative positions, including who would succeed Kelley as assistant superintendent.

On Tuesday, Himmel laid rumors to rest by recommending Curry as the new assistant superintendent of school operations.

"She is very knowledgeable," Himmel said of Curry, who has served as executive director of management services since 2001. Previously, she had been principal at Citrus Springs Middle School.

In her new role, Curry will oversee all 19 school principals and the human resources department. Unlike Kelley, however, Curry will no longer supervise the directors of curriculum and instruction and area schools, research and accountability, student services and exceptional student education.

Instead, those directors will report to the executive director of educational services. That position, Himmel said, will be filled by Mark Brunner, who currently serves as the director of area schools and elementary education.

Mainor, the principal at Hernando Elementary, will replace Brunner in the district office.

Mainor said Tuesday she was delighted to join the district administration.

"What I have been able to do here at Hernando Elementary, I hope I can reproduce and contribute to all the elementary schools," she said.

No one has been named as Mainor's replacement.

Finance director Sam Hurst will serve as the executive director of business services, a job that brings together all monetary operations. He will oversee the director of food services, the supervisor of purchasing and the internal auditor.

Finally, Mike Mullen will become executive director of support services. That is a slight change from his current title. He will continue to oversee the departments of maintenance, transportation, and facilities and construction as well as the director of technology and the new planning and interagency coordinator.

The board will vote on Himmel's recommendations next month. If approved, the new administration will go into effect July 1.

The search for a new School Board attorney is expected to take longer.

Board members must decide whether to hire an attorney who would work exclusively for the school district. Fitzpatrick represented the district on a part-time basis.

Himmel said she is meeting next week with a lawyer who runs a private practice in Orlando. Inverness attorney Karen Gaffney, the former attorney for Hernando County schools, also has expressed an interest in the job, Himmel said.

Board Chairman Lou Miele said the board should carefully weigh all its options.

"As much as we need legal representation right now," Miele said, hinting at the possibility the district might sue builder R.E. Graham for construction flaws at Homosassa Elementary, "I don't want to rush through this."

Eddy Ramirez can be reached at eramirez@sptimes.com or 860-7305.

[Last modified March 29, 2006, 01:23:20]