Stoltz moves to principal's office at CHS

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

It didn't take long for the Cloverdale Community School Corp. to find a replacement for departing high school principal Gary Boyd.

At its regular monthly meeting Monday, the school board voted unanimously to replace Boyd with high school assistant principal Sonny Stoltz.

"I'd like to welcome (Stoltz) to the high school principal position," board president Linda Mann said following the decision.

The board met with Stoltz in executive session prior to Monday's meeting and added his hiring as an emergency addition to its regular session.

"We're very excited." Mann said. "I think Sonny is going to do a fine job."

Mann said the board wanted to look within the corporation before officially opening the position.

"We did want to do that," she said, "and the reason is we have Sonny Stoltz. We felt very strong that if he had the job, he would move the school forward."

Stoltz has been with the corporation for 17 years.

The lifelong Cloverdale resident began his tenure in the school system as a Title I Instructor in 1989.

He became a third-grade teacher in 1993 and started his administrative career in 2003, as high school athletic director and assistant principal.

"That was a great experience for me," Stoltz said of becoming the assistant principal.

He also served as the school's safe schools committee representative and was on the school improvement committee.

Stoltz has also coached several athletic teams at both the high school and middle school levels, serving as varsity baseball coach (1990-2003), co-ed varsity cross country coach (1990-2003) and high school girls' basketball coach (1998-2003).

Stoltz earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Marian College in 1989 and earned his masters and professional educator's license from Oakland City University in 2005.

He is married to Renee Michelle Stoltz and the couple have two children, Kaileigh, 14, and Mackenzie, 4, and is also involved in several activities in the community.

"It's an honor to lead Cloverdale High School," Stoltz said. "I hope my tenure as principal is as successful as the previous 17 years. I've been very fortunate and I'm going to work hard."

CCSC Supt. Carrie Milner said Stoltz was the only candidate the board interviewed.

"I know he'll do an excellent job," Milner said Monday. "This is a good thing.

"He's committed to doing the best job he can do."

Milner said the corporation would have opened the position to outside candidates, but felt Stoltz was the right choice.

"We've thought a lot about it," Milner said. "In many instances, we open up to outside candidates. But when you have good people in place, you feel you're ahead in the ball game. We just decided to hire from within."

Milner said the assistant principal and athletic director positions will be posted immediately, but added one person may not take care of both positions in the future, saying the board would ask for input from Stoltz regarding the issue.

Boyd served as the high school principal for three years, but recently announced his resignation. He accepted the position as principal at Springs Valley Junior/Senior High School in French Lick for the fall. Boyd has 33 years experience in education, including 15 in administration.

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