The Council Rock School Board approved two more administrative hires at its Monday, Aug. 8 meeting.
Emily Otero was named the new principal at Churchville Elementary School at a starting salary of $135,000, and Donald Mihalek the school district’s new security manager/safety and security coordinator at a starting salary of $104,000.
Otero comes from the Methacton School District in Montgomery County, where she was dean of students grades 5-6 at Skyview Upper Elementary School. At Churchville she will succeed Jill Kingston, who moved over to become principal at another Council Rock Elementary School, Rolling Hills.
Mihalek is a former member of the United States Coast Guard, Park Police and Secret Service. As the official in charge of Council Rock’s security, he succeeds William Reick, who retired after about 20 years in the position.
The appointments of Otero and Mihalek are the latest in a series of administrative moves in a Council Rock district that has seen a lot of turnover in that area in recent months.
At a June special board meeting, former Director of K-12 Education Dr. Andrew Sanko officially became Council Rock’s new superintendent, agreeing to a five-year contract at a starting salary of $220,000. He took over for Robert Fraser, who left the district under a separation agreement.
Later that month, Council Rock High School South Principal Albert Funk was promoted to director of secondary education and Goodnoe Elementary School Principal Nicole Crawford to director of elementary education. Both got starting salaries in their new positions of $179,900.
John Radick, assistant principal and athletic director at Council Rock South for the last several years, replaced Funk as principal at that school with starting pay of $169,939. Althea Tomlinson was named supervisor of curriculum and instruction with an initial salary of $130,000. She has served in several roles since starting her Council Rock career in 2002.
In other moves over the last two months, Anthony Devlin, a high-level administrator in the Neshaminy district, was named Council Rock’s new special services director at a starting salary of $175,000. As the administrator who oversees the district’s special education programs and other areas, Devlin took over for Charles Lambert, who retired.
Andrea Mangold, who has served in several Council Rock positions since 2006 and was named Pennsylvania Earth Science Teacher of the Year in 2019, was recently appointed as the district’s new community relations and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) supervisor at a starting salary of $120,000.
Other principal shifts within the district during the last several weeks saw Sam Smith move from Rolling Hills Elementary School to Wrightstown ES, and Beth Fox move from Wrightstown to Goodnoe ES to succeed Crawford.
The administrative moves aren’t finished. Sanko said Council Rock is looking for replacements for Director of Operations Doug Taylor and Business Administrator Jason Harris, who both recently left the district. Taylor’s replacement will not have the same title, Sanko said. Harris had been business administrator for less than a year after replacing Bill Stone in November of 2021.
According to Sanko, Council Rock will not fill the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning position formerly held by Susan Elliott, who moved on to become superintendent of the Upper Moreland district in Montgomery County. Her responsibilities will be assumed by Funk, Crawford, Tomlinson and others, Sanko said.
“Council Rock’s administrative changes in the last few months are all in the best interest of students and align with our priority of ‘Students First, Always,’” he wrote in an email. “The administrative team now in place has many years of experience within the district, covering a multitude of positions and assignments. These administrators have the support of the school board and have already transitioned easily into their new roles.”
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