Wrangell Public School District learned last week its secondary school principal, Bill Schwan, will be departing after the current academic year ends.
His departure is the latest among the district’s top administrators. At Evergreen Elementary, school principal Gail Taylor tendered notice in January. She took off for Oklahoma earlier than expected, departing this week on Tuesday.
Faculty member Therese Pempek will helm the school through the year’s end. After a search for Taylor’s replacement, the district announced it will be hiring Virginia Tulley from Arizona. She is currently the instructional coach at Sanders Elementary School in Sanders, has teaching experience and was principal of Canyon De Chelly Elementary School in Chinle for three years. She will be starting in Wrangell at the start of next school year.
Superintendent Patrick Mayer had likewise announced, in February he, would be departing after serving the district since 2014. After a statewide search and a final fly-in interview with three candidates, the district hired Debbie Lancaster. A chiropractor from West Texas before becoming a teacher, she is a former teacher and principal on Alaska’s North Slope, currently serving as the borough’s district certified program manager.
The principal at Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle School since 2016, Schwan will be taking a principal position in Washington, a bigger district where he will be closer to family.
“It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” he explained.
The three departures will leave Wrangell’s schools in a similar situation it was in back in 2014. Elementary principal Deidre Jensen had assumed her post there at the start of the calendar year, and by the end of the 2013-14 school year, longtime superintendent and secondary principal Monty Buness had retired. Heading into the 2014-15 year, the district had new or relatively new administrators, and will have gone through five principals in the years since due to turnover.
This in mind, the Wrangell School Board will hold a work session tonight to discuss its administrative transition plan.
“I think number one, we will be making sure that we have all of the current administrations’ business wrapped up for the year,” explained Georgianna Buhler, current board president.
The opening for secondary school principal is currently being advertised, and the incoming superintendent will be present for the meeting. Out of town for the week, Mayer will participate in the workshop by phone.
Looking ahead, the board will also set 90-day goals for the incoming crop of school leadership.
The meeting will be open to the public to sit in on, with some opportunity to present questions through a proxy. The meeting will be at Evergreen’s Room 101, Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m.
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