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School chief picks 2 administrators
By BARBARA BEHRENDT
© St. Petersburg Times, INVERNESS -- The promotion of Lecanto High School principal Steve Richardson to a post in the district administration on Thursday means that all three of Citrus County's public high schools will be headed by new principals this fall. Richardson, named by Superintendent David Hickey as the district's new personnel director, joins longtime educators Craig Marlett and Gary Foltz as outgoing principals. Within the last two months, Marlett said he was leaving Crystal River High School to take another position in the district, and Hickey chose not to reappoint Foltz as principal of Citrus High School. Hickey has recommended, and the School Board has accepted, Michael Mullen as the new Citrus High principal. Hickey was interviewing candidates for Marlett's job on Thursday and said he expected to announce the new Crystal River principal next week. Even though all three high schools are facing difficult times with high student populations stretching their facilities and resources, Hickey said he was optimistic that the people chosen to lead those schools would be able to manage the challenge. "It is always challenging" to open a school for the new year, Hickey said. "This is a difficult profession. There is no easy job in education today." On Thursday, Hickey also announced that Gail Grimm, assistant principal at Floral City Elementary School, will become the new director of planning and development. Both Richardson and Grimm will be recommended to the board for approval on June 12 and each will take their new job beginning July 1. Richardson, 54, has been principal at Lecanto High School since 1994 and served as assistant principal at Crystal River High School for four years before that. He also worked as a teacher and coach and came to the county in 1986. He has served on a variety of county-level committees, including the Long-range Planning Committee, the Superintendent's Executive Leadership Team and the Attendance Policy Committee. "Mr. Richardson has been a very successful high school principal and previously served as an assistant principal," Hickey said. "He has done a fine job in recruiting, selecting and retaining high-quality personnel. . . . Mr. Richardson in my opinion has the depth of understanding as to what the personnel department needs." Another plus is his length of service in the county, Hickey said. "He has a tremendous familiarity with all the personnel in the district, an understanding of the needs in our district and an excellent rapport with his colleagues," Hickey said. Richardson was chosen over eight other applicants to fill the job, which is being vacated by Sam Stiteler. She was not reappointed to the position by Hickey and has been chosen as assistant director at the Withlacoochee Technical Institute. Grimm, 54, replaces Bob Brust, who was not reappointed by Hickey. The planning and development job involves overseeing the district's strategic planning process and coordinating training programs for school district employees. Hickey said he has known Grimm for more than 20 years, meeting her first when she was an active parent in the Crystal River area. "She has shined in every role that I've seen her in," Hickey said. "She has a good understanding of the strategic plan and was part of the strategic plan development." He said Grimm is "a great facilitator" and "she has a tremendous understanding of the importance of staff development, and I'm a 100 percent believer in good staff development." Grimm, who has been with the school district for 15 years and previously worked as a guidance counselor, said leaving the students behind for a county office job would be difficult. "It's such a fabulous environment and the children are wonderful," she said. But she was looking forward to the new challenge. "It has to be a very special job to take me away from this," she said. "But it's exciting and I'm really interested in the strategic plan and in-service education."
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