The duties of principal at Homewood-Flossmoor High School will be a shared responsibility this school year.
“We will not be hiring an interim principal,” said Jodi Bryant, director of human resources and public relations. The school board’s Personnel Committee met Monday and agreed with the plan laid out for the board by Superintendent Von Mansfield.
Mansfield, the two assistant principals and department chairs will each take a portion of the responsibilities that had been under the direction of Ryan Pitcock until his June dismissal as H-F principal.
“As we move forward into the school year, the Personnel Committee and administration will continue to evaluate if additional supports are necessary ensuring that the needs of our students and staff are being met,” Bryant explained.
Concerns and questions that arise throughout this school year can be directed to assistant principals Craig Fantin at 708-335-5593 or Lawrence Cook at 708-335-5604, or Mansfield at 708-335-5500.
“The academic and social-emotional needs of our students and staff will remain our top priority moving forward,” Bryant emphasized. “We are looking forward to another great school year that will continue to showcase the outstanding accomplishments of our students, staff and community.”
Starting in fall, the school board will be looking for input from the various constituencies in District 233 – parents, students, teachers, support staff, administrators and the community – in the selection process for a new principal.
Bryant said as the process proceeds the school board will be using surveys to highlight key characteristics for a new principal, and input from focus groups and various interview committees.
Board President Richard Lites has said the school board will conduct a national search for a new principal.
Pitcock had served as principal for eight years and had one year remaining on his contract when the school board decided to dismiss him without cause.
The board refused to discuss the particulars of his release, although it denied rumors that Pitcock was fired for having disciplined a student after she broke the rules at a student talent show, or that teachers and staff had resigned because of the Pitcock firing.
The board has conducted an investigation around rumors of two administrators having an extramarital affair in 2014. The investigator found the charges were baseless, according to board member Gerald Pauling, chair of the Personnel Committee.