District Prepares for Fall with New Administrators

In readying for the 2011-12 school year, the Hatboro-Horsham school board on Monday welcomed several new administrators who will lend their talents to fill vacancies at a number of district schools.

In light of the resignations of Sue Bitner and Bill Miles, the board at its Monday night meeting announced it had hired Tamara Stevenski-Bennick and John Zuk as assistant principals at . Both will begin at a salary of $95,000.

Stevenski-Bennick comes to the district after six years as an assistant high school principal in the Allentown School District, where she headed the school’s disciplinary program and oversaw a staff of 175. She holds a master’s degree in educational leadership and a bachelor’s in secondary education and English.

Zuk spent the last six years as assistant principal at Southern Lehigh High School, where he also oversaw discipline and developed the school’s master schedule. He obtained a master’s degree in computer education and a bachelor’s in secondary education with an emphasis on math and physics.

The board also approved the hiring of Jeffrey Tomlinson to replace the recently retired Al Hall as director of safety and security. Tomlinson, who will earn a salary of $65,000, has 20 years at the Federal Bureau of Investigation under his belt, most recently having worked in the bureau’s human resources division, where he developed a leadership and training program for 35,000 employees.

The district will also welcome Joseph Devine as the new assistant principal at . Devine most recently served as assistant to the principal at North Penn’s Pennbrook Middle School, where he was responsible for such tasks as creating the master schedule, budgets and professional-development activities. He will earn a salary of $82,000.

Devine will replace Robert “Bing” Crosby, who retired after 11 years as assistant principal and athletic director at Keith Valley. The board honored Crosby at Monday’s meeting, and board member Monica Taylor said he will be “sorely missed” by the whole Keith Valley community.

Additionally, Karen Czarny, who served as director of curriculum from 2002-05, will return to that role to replace Jean di Sabatino, who retired. Previously, the department only had one director, but in keeping with a restructuring, Czarny will be joined by new co-director David Weber, previous assistant director. Czarny will focus on academic programs and professional development, while Weber’s attention will be directed toward educational programs and assessment.

“The leadership skills and experiences of these educators will be very valuable as we continue our efforts to enhance student performance in the Hatboro-Horsham School District,” said Superintendent Curtis Griffin of all the new hires.

In his briefing Monday night, Griffin said the district is eagerly looking forward to Sept. 6, the start of the new school year.

He mentioned that the district was pleased that the Horsham Land Reuse Authority moved forward last week on the for a new school but cautioned that “we don’t be breaking ground tomorrow.”

Sarah Alexander, a rising senior at the high school, addressed the board in regards to class rank, urging them not to eliminate that method, as has been proposed. Alexander said the ranking system does not create “unhealthy competition” as board members previously said and is a way for students to monitor their progress.

Griffin said the board will likely come to a decision on that matter at some point this school year and, if it does eliminate the rankings, it will do so beginning with an incoming freshman or sophomore class.