School offices to sport 3 new faces

East Lake High School, Seminole High School and Sunset Hills Elementary will soon have new leaders.

By ROBERT FARLEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 19, 2001

The Pinellas County School District has tapped Clayton "Chip" Snare, the site administrator at PTEC St. Petersburg, to replace Rick Misenti as principal at East Lake High School.

In a second proposed move, Rory Morris-Richardson has been recommended as the new principal at Sunset Hills Elementary in Tarpon Springs.

Both recommendations are scheduled to come before the School Board for approval Tuesday night.

For Snare, this would be the second appointment as a high school principal this year. In January, he was named the principal of the proposed Bayside High School, an alternative school for students who don't succeed in traditional classrooms. Because of some unforeseen problems purchasing land for the school in Largo, construction has been delayed, said Pinellas School Superintendent Howard Hinesley. The delay jeopardizes the district's plan to open the school by 2002-2003.

"He (Snare) was hoping to start that sooner," Hinesley said.

So when the East Lake job opened up, Snare put his name in. Snare lives in East Lake and his son graduated from East Lake High School, Hinesley said.

"East Lake is a fine school," Hinesley said. "It was important to get a good administrator there, and I think we did.

"What he (Snare) will bring is a lot of experience," Hinesley said. "He's a good listener and he'll continue to move that school forward."

Snare, 53, has been with the Pinellas County school district for 27 years, having served as a teacher at Bay Vista and Kings Highway elementary schools and Countryside High School. He has also served as a guidance counselor and assistant director at PTEC, St. Petersburg, and as director at Seminole Vocational Education Center.

In 1996, Snare received the Volunteer of the Year Award for the North Pinellas Family YMCA in East Lake.

Snare earned a bachelor's degree from Lock Haven University in Lock Haven, Pa., and received both his master's and educational specialist degrees from the University of South Florida.

"He doesn't overreact to things," Hinesley said. "He's a laid-back kind of guy, extremely confident."

Snare was attending a conference in Reno, Nev., and could not be reached for comment Thursday or Friday. His transfer would mean a salary increase from $78,607 to $82,548 annually. He would start June 29.

Misenti is leaving to become the principal at Seminole High.

"Mr. Misenti has done a fine job there (at East Lake)," Hinesley said. "Mr. Snare has a lot of the same qualities."

Morris-Richardson, who will be the new principal at Sunset Hills Elementary, grew up in Pinellas County and graduated from Largo High School. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Florida and her master's degree from Jacksonville University. She also holds an educational specialist degree from the University of Florida.

Morris-Richardson began teaching in Jacksonville and then became an assistant principal and principal for four years at an elementary school there. She moved back to the Tampa Bay area after she got married to Mike Richardson, a decorated Vietnam veteran and then-commercial pilot. Richardson is now the intervention specialist at Mt. Vernon Elementary in St. Petersburg.

Morris-Richardson became a school principal at Tarpon Springs Community School and then was promoted to supervisor of adult and community education for Pinellas County schools, a post she held for nine years. She also served as an assistant principal at Countryside High School and Mt. Vernon Elementary School.

"She brings a lot of experience to the job," Hinesley said. "She has done a good job with every job she's had."

"The goal was to be a principal at an elementary school," Morris-Richardson said. "That is truly community-oriented. I am looking forward to being with all of them."

A Safety Harbor resident, Morris-Richardson, 50, was making $52,638 for a 10-month work schedule at Safety Harbor Elementary and will now make $69,480 for the year-round job as principal. Her promotion would take effect June 29.

She said Tarpon Springs will find she is open and accessible.

"I really value the opinions of the staff and parents and the community," she said. "I feel we're all in this together."

- Staff writer Kelly Ryan contributed to this report. Robert Farley can be reached at (727) 445-4185.

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