Assistant Principal and Warsaw Community High School head football coach Troy Akers will replace Dr. Jennifer Lucht as principal effective July 1.
The replacement is part of an administration realignment for the Central Office approved by the Warsaw Community Schools Board at Trustees at its Feb. 18 meeting.Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Haworth made the announcement during a staff meeting this morning at the high school and during a meeting at the central office.
E-mails also were sent to staff this morning notifying them of the realignment.
"The realignment is cost- neutral and we will not add any new staff, but reorganize the staff we currently have," Haworth said.
Lucht and Akers will carry out their current positions until the end of the school year, according to Haworth.
"Troy has served as chief assistant to Dr. Lucht for several years and has proven himself worthy of an opportunity to be named the next Warsaw Community Schools principal," Haworth said.
Lucht served as Warsaw Community Schools principal for the past five years and was assistant principal for Warsaw Community Schools for 12 years.
Akers served as an administrator for Warsaw Community Schools for 12 years while serving as a football coach for the district. He was and assitant football coach for eight years and the WCHS head football coach for the past four years.
"I have a good grasp on the climate and culture of the high school and am blessed to follow in Dr. Lucht's footsteps," Akers said during a phone interview this morning.
Akers said he is not sure at this point when he will officially resign as head football coach, but said he is working with the Central Office to complete his resignation.
Haworth said a search for a new head football coach will begin following Aker's resignation. He said Akers has until the school board's March 17 meeting to resign.
Lucht will become the school's director of development, a newly created position that was approved by the school board at its Feb. 18 meeting.
"There is a need for greater focus on potential grants that have historically not been available to Warsaw because of demographics," Haworth said.
He said the newly-created position will allow the school to have a better understanding in getting grants that will help close an achievement gap.
"I feel the newly created position is a great opportunity for Warsaw Community Schools and the position will allow me to seek grants to expand our existing programs," Lucht said.
Lucht's duties as director of development will include serving as a grant writer for the district. She also will be in charge of internal and external communication with staff.
"We have missed a lot of school days because of snow, and the external communication would include deciding how snow days could be made up and the internal communication would involve working with staff to develop the best plan for making up the snow days," Haworth said.
Another part of the position will be a Title I coordinator, a program that addresses special needs at schools that might have a high free- and reduced-lunch count.
