New Principals for Fallston, Aberdeen, Joppatowne

UPDATE (11:04 p.m.)—, Aberdeen and Joppatowne high schools all got new principals Thursday night.

By a 5–2 vote, the confirmed Superintendent Robert Tomback's appointments and promotions, which are effective July 1. Board members and Donald Osman voted against the recommendations.

Fallston High School Principal Joseph Schmitz will become executive director of High School Performance. Richard Jester, principal at Western School of Technology and Environmental Science in Baltimore County, will replace Schmitz.

Edgewood High School Instructional Facilitator Michael O'Brien will replace Thomas Szerensits as principal at Aberdeen High School.

Assistant Principal Pam Zeigler will replace Macon Tucker as principal of Joppatowne High School.

to assistant principal positions at and high schools, respectively.

After Thursday's meeting, Tomback referred questions   about his decisions to Manager of Communications Teri Kranefeld. Kranefeld said she had just learned of the personnel moves; only the superintendent and the board had knowledge of the specific changes before the vote.

In other appointments, Tara Dedeaux will be the instructional facilitator at  and Edgewood elementary schools.

Benjamin Richardson and Christopher Yancoe have been appointed principals of Williams S. James and Riverside elementary schools, respectively.

Mentor Audrey J. Vohs will become assistant principal at Emmorton Elementary School.

Dr. Kevin Ensor has been appointed as Supervisor of School Counseling.

A number of "pool placements" were also approved Monday. These individuals remain candidates for the positions in which they have been pooled should openings arise. Otherwise, they will remain at their current position.

For a complete list of appointments and promotions, see attached document.

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10:20 p.m. Fallston principal Joseph Schmitz has been appointed as executive director of High School Performance.

The following principal appointments have also been made:

• Michael O'Brien as principal of Aberdeen High School.
• Pam Ziegler as principal of Joppatowne High School.
• Richard Jester as principal of Fallston High School

10:19 p.m. Frisch is commenting during the discussion of the appointments and promotions.

"Leadership built on fear, intimidation and punishment is not leadership at all,"  said Frisch, directing his remarks at Wolkow.

Wolkow thanked Frisch for his comments.

10:16 p.m. Board member Leonard Wheeler is discussing the role of the board and that it should be invitational to others who want to contribute to the community.

He has been speaking for about four minutes.

10:12 p.m. Superintendent Robert Tomback has proposed the following appointments, among others:

Michael O'Brien as principal of Aberdeen High School. He is currently the instructional facilitator at Edgewood High School.

Pam Ziegler as principal of Joppatowne High School.

Richard Jester as principal of Fallston High School.

10:10 p.m. Frisch and Wolkow are going back and forth because Frisch wants to make his own motion. Wolkow said he is welcome to do so after the conclusion of the motion up for discussion now. The motion is for the appointment and  promotion pool.

10:09 p.m. Frisch asked if there will be any board comments allowed tonight, but Wolkow said no. The appointments and promotions have been taken off the table. (Meaning they're back in play.)

10:07 p.m. Mary Kay Keesling, a Patterson Mill High School parent, is speaking during public comment. She is concerned that two of Patterson Mill's assistant principals are being transferred.

"I know that we’re all very concerned about that," Keesling said. "It’s a big jump about one school, especially one that’s new"

She added: "I really think its important to try to have a female administrator in all the high schools."

10:05 p.m. Signs that it's a late meeting: Wolkow forgot the roll call, then the Pledge of Allegiance. He was corrected on both.

Board member Robert Frisch voted against adopting the agenda. The other six members voted in favor.

10:03 p.m. The rest of the board just walked in. Get ready for some rapid updates.

10:01 p.m. Guess who's here? Some of the board.

Board President Mark Wolkow along with Alysson Krchnavy, Thomas Evans and Donald Osman are ready to go. Superintendent Robert Tomback is also here.

"Sorry all for the delay, we'll get started in just a moment," Wolkow said.

9:54 p.m. Nothing new to report, other than me changing seats so I can charge my computer. No indication that the board will come out anytime soon. Then again, they could come in any second.

9:38 p.m. Still no sign of the board, but here's how this will work tonight.

Superintendent Robert Tomback will recommend his appointments and promotions to the board, which will vote yes or no. If the board votes no, that person stays put. If it votes yes, it could get complicated.

Some of the approvals could be "pool" approvals. For example, there will be two principal vacancies at Aberdeen and Joppatowne high schools once transfers are finalized. (Eleven were announced Monday and the board has no say.)

So the board could approve a pool of five principals from which Tomback can select someone to fill those vacancies. (Again, this is a hypothetical example, save for the two vacancies that exist at Aberdeen and Joppatowne.) If more principal positions open during the next school year (July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012), Tomback can appoint from the same pool.

There may also be some individual appointments and promotions approved, which would be much simpler. The reason this is so complicated is because the list of candidates has not been provided beforehand, not even to Manager of Communications Teri Kranefeld, who just explained all this to me.

Additionally, the transfers, though they will not be affected by tonight's actions, could create a domino effect. That is why they were put on hold to potentially match up with tonight's appointments and promotions.

9:23 p.m. The is not here, which means no live streaming. Stay with Patch for the only real-time updates.

CORRECTION: The above statement next to 9:23 p.m. is incorrect. All meetings are live streamed with two stationary cameras, even if Harford Cable Network isn't broadcasting. I apologize for mistakenly posting otherwise.

9:20 p.m. Five minutes after the special session was scheduled to begin, the dais remains empty. The standard administrative personnel are in attendance in addition to about 20 people in the audience.

Harford County Education Association President Randy Cerveny is in attendance. He told Patch he is here to observe and does not plan to speak.

Harford County Councilman Richard Slutzky—the council's education liaison—is also here, as usual. 

9:06 p.m. The is in a closed session that began at about 8:20 p.m. The open session is expected to resume at 9:15 p.m., beginning with public comment.

The only item on Thursday's agenda is "Decision on Promotions and Appointments" under "Old Business."

The full list of individuals to be promoted or appointed will not be available until after the meeting.

At , board members Leonard Wheeler and objected to approving the promotions and appointments saying they needed more time to review the moves. Frisch said the board received the information Friday via email. The board voted 4–3 to table the votes, despite President Mark Wolkow insisting they were prepared to decide that night.

are a pair of demotions to Aberdeen High School Principal Thomas Szerensits and Joppatowne High School Principal Macon Tucker.