Ziogas to Remain Interim Principal at MHS Until Permanent Replacement Found

Interim Superintendent Richard Kisiel told Patch this week that Manchester High School Interim Principal Gregory Ziogas has agreed to remain at the school until a permanent replacement can be found, and that he was hopeful that the position would be filled by the spring. 

There had been some concern that Ziogas, who , might have to vacate the position in February of this year or face problems with his retirement status, but Kisiel said that rule only applies to interim superintendents such as himself (). 

"He's agreed to stay on until we appoint a new principal," Kisiel told Patch. 

Ziogas replaced former Manchester High School Principal Kevin O'Donnell when former Superintendent Kathleen Ouellette , following several high profile incidents at the high school. At the time, Ouellette said Ziogas would only be in the position for several months and that she hoped to have a permanent principal in place at the high school before the end of the school year, but Ziogas' status became more complex when and left the school system at the start of the current school year. 

Kisiel said that the Board of Education has advised him to make filling the principal position at MHS a priority, and that he was hopeful a new principal could be named for the high school by springtime; he added that he expected the superintendent role to be filled by July 1, 2012. 

Board of Education Chairman Chris Pattacini said that the school board is prepared to hire a permanent principal at Manchester High without a permanent superintendent in place, but conceded that the vacancy in the school system's top administrative position has complicated the principal search. 

"The principal search is currently open and we will continue to accept applicants to fill that position, but recognizing that it will be difficult to fill that position without a superintendent," Pattacini said. "We want to get the right candidates. If we can find the right individual, that's certainly something that we would not want to wait on." 

Ziogas is a veteran educator and administrator who spent 40 years with the Plainville School District working as a teacher, athletic director and principal. He receives a per diem of $630.81 per school day, the same daily salary that O'Donnell's contract averaged out to, but does not receive benefits through the school system. Ziogas could not be reached for comment for this story Wednesday.