Belvidere School Board names Chris Halloran interim principal

Friday, August 28, 2009
By BILL WICHERT
The Express-Times

BELVIDERE | Given the recent drama surrounding the removal of Belvidere High School Principal Lelia Pappas, Superintendent Dirk Swaneveld said the school district needs a period of healing.

In the wake of several parents and students criticizing the school board's decision this summer to dismiss Pappas, board members agreed Wednesday to hire Chris Halloran as interim principal for the upcoming school year. Halloran is slated to earn $100,000.

"We need to move forward," Swaneveld, who had recommended the board renew Pappas' contract, said Thursday. "(Halloran) just has a very nonconfrontational, warm, comfortable approach."

A White Township resident, Halloran was hired within the last few months to serve as district technology supervisor. During the last school year, Halloran served as director of student personnel services in the North Warren Regional School District.

Halloran, a former science teacher, had been used as a consultant in the Belvidere School District to assist with master scheduling, Swaneveld said. Halloran never served as a principal or vice principal, Swaneveld said.

"He has a great sense of community," Swaneveld said. "He has a strong academic background."

Halloran could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The school district sought applicants for the principal's job, but didn't feel the candidate pool was very strong, Swaneveld said. The district plans to re-advertise in February or March in the hope of getting a new principal in place for 2010-11, he said.

Close votes on Pappas

In two separate board meetings this summer, Pappas fell short of receiving the requisite seven votes to renew her contract, school board member David Rader said. The school board voted 6-5 against renewal and then 6-5 again in support of renewal, Rader said.

Rader said he was the only member to change his vote between the two decisions. While he has some concerns about Pappas' leadership, Rader said he was swayed by the support for Pappas expressed at the second meeting by faculty members from the history department.

"Most decisions are a lot easier than this one. I'll say that," Rader said. "It was a challenge."

School board member Maryann Stephen, who voted against renewing Pappas' contract, said: "I just don't feel she expressed the leadership skills we require in that position."

Stephen declined to cite specific problems with Pappas. Stephen voted against appointing Halloran because, she said, the school board's personnel committee didn't do its due diligence in seeking out candidates.

Pappas caught off guard

Pappas said by phone Thursday she was showing leadership and encouraging changes that turned off some people. Pappas worked as assistant principal for two years, then one year as principal.

"I gave it 100 percent all the time. I'm very proud of what I accomplished," Pappas said. "If I wasn't a leader, I'd still be working there. I think it's the exact opposite."

Pappas claims the school board should have notified her sooner her contract was not being renewed, giving her more time to secure a new position.

"I had no indication there were any issues," she said. "That would have been the professional thing to do."

Hope Township resident Ron Kjeldsen, whose son is entering his senior year at the high school, said Pappas' departure represents a huge loss.

Pappas taught his son during the seventh and eighth grades and tutored his younger son, Kjeldsen said. Pappas is a committed professional who put in long hours, encouraged students and took a personal interest in everybody, he said. Kjeldsen said she helped set a positive tone.

"I can't say enough about her," Kjeldsen said. "To me, it's just really sad."