Changes in School District
By Tami Barrera
With the new school year right around the corner, the Antioch Unified School District is eager to show the community their commitment to the students and their education. Deer Valley begins the year with a new principal, Kenneth Gardner. Former Deer Valley Co-Principal Scott Bergerhouse will be a vice principal at Black Diamond Middle School while his former partner Clarence Isadore has moved onto another school district.
Park Middle School found itself in need of a new vice principal when its current one was promoted to principal at another school. According to Superintendent Don Gill, there were 80 applicants, 14 of whom went through a rigorous review process, leaving them with the one candidate who fit their needs perfectly, Michael DeFrancesco.
“My ten years of education have been leading up to this moment,” said DeFrancesco. “I make a commitment to you that all students deserve the right to have good teachers and good administrators. I promise you that I will leave no child behind, no matter what the situation.”
In other action at Wednesday’s board meeting, it was announced that the schools have enough funds to bring back their counselors without dipping into the general fund. And the school board has begun reviewing contracts that have been renewed year after year without any scrutinization. They discovered that the Safety Crossing Guards were overcharging them, which brought about a $17,000 savings for the upcoming year.
Dozier Libbey Medical High School will be preparing for its first graduating class this year.
