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NORTH MANCHESTER - With just a few days left before school starts, the Manchester Community School Board met Tuesday to fill a few remaining positions within the system.
"We called this meeting so we could start school with a new principal and new cooks," said superintendent Dr. Diana Showalter.
Students at Laketon Elementary School will see a new face the first day of school as Bill Reichhart takes over as principal.
"My head is spinning already," Reichhart said with a chuckle as the board welcomed him to the staff after he was hired by a 4-0 vote.
Reichhart, 47, has experience as a principal at Huntertown Elementary School, an assistant principal and athletic director at Maple Creek Middle School in Fort Wayne, and as a teacher in New Haven, Fort Wayne, Decatur and Dearborn, Mich.
"I think I am most looking forward to getting to know students, parents, the school community of Laketon and the entire Manchester Community School district," said Reichhart.
Reichhart currently lives in New Haven with his wife Penny, who is a controller with Waste Management. They have four children in college this year: Maria Reichhart, a graduate student at the University of Saint Francis; Melissa Reichhart, a student at Purdue University; Matt Reichhart, a student at Ivy Tech in Fort Wayne; and Lindsey Bradtmueller, a student at Manchester College.
In other business, the board:
• Approved the hiring of Michelle Rose, full-time kindergarten teacher at Manchester Elementary School. Rose originally was on the reduction in force list, but was brought back part-time earlier this summer. Because 140 students are enrolled at the kindergarten level, Rose was put back to full-time status.
• Approved the hiring of Joanna Montel and Debbie Dotson, cooks at LES; Jay Fawley, Tom Hess, Tom Brown, Ginny Brubaker and Jeff Perry, volleyball coaches at LES; Christine Beery, Manchester Junior High media center assistant; and Susan Iding and Melissa Kania, part-time cooks at Manchester Elementary School.
Members of the Manchester School board at Thursday's meeting were Sally Krouse, president, Carlye McLaughlin, Kent Terrill and Thom Frantz. Todd Speicher, Brian Schilling and Steve Flack were absent. Superintendent is Dr. Diana Showalter.
