BY SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
UNION TOWNSHIP -- Lakota West High School's new principal won't be a new face at the school.
The high school's associate principal, Michael Hord, was named temporary principal Monday night by the Lakota Board of Education. He will replace Craig Ullery, who resigned to take a job as human resources director for Mason City Schools.
"He is the best person to keep the ball rolling into the school year," board President Sandy Wheatley said Tuesday of Mr. Hord. She noted Mr. Hord had the longest tenure of the three associate principals.
Mr. Hord was hired in 1990 as assistant principal of Lakota High School. He moved to Lakota West High School when it opened last year. Mr. Hord also worked for seven years as guidance director at Madison Local Schools.
He holds a bachelor's degree from Miami University and a master's degree in education from Xavier University.
Mr. Hord said he was thrilled by the appointment. "Every assistant wants the opportunity to use the skills you developed over a period of time."
Taking over Mr. Hord's responsibilities will be industrial technology teacher Richard Pridemore.
Mr. Hord's position takes effect Aug. 17.
The search continues for a permanent principal.
Other hires Monday night included:
• Cincinnati native Vicki Curtis as director of special education for the district. She is an educational consultant based in Temple Terrace, Fla. She was with the Southwest Ohio Special Education Regional Resource Center in Cincinnati from 1977 to 1993. She then became director of the Leadership Training Institute for the Florida State Department of Education. Her annual salary is $65,871.
• Timothy Shaffer as the Lakota Freshman School's second assistant principal. Mr. Shaffer is an associate principal at McNicholas High School, where he has worked since 1981. His annual salary for the newly created position is $57,764.
• Julie Miller as assistant principal at Liberty Elementary. Ms. Miller, an Indian Hill teacher, has served on a panel for the Ohio Department of Education on new teacher licensure standards. Ms. Miller also worked for three years as a fifth-grade teacher at Lakota's Shawnee Elementary. Her annual salary is $50,670.
• Gail Kist-Kline as assistant principal of Union Elementary. A principal at St. Joseph Consolidated School in Hamilton, she also has served as coordinator of physical education, health and sport studies at Miami University-Hamilton and was athletic director there from 1988 to 1992. Her annual salary is $54,724.
