Marple Newtown super takes leave, principal departs district
NEWTOWN » The Marple Newtown School District is dealing with some end-ofyear changes, as the school board announced a threemonth medical leave for Superintendent Dr. Carol Cary and resignation of high school Principal Dr. Greg Puckett.
Cary’s leave, which began Nov. 6, will extend through Feb. 4. Business Administrator Joe Driscoll was appointed to serve as substitute superintendent.
“The board felt it was important to have a clearly designated point of contact responsible for overseeing all departments to ensure the district continues to operate effectively and efficiently during Dr. Cary’s temporary absence,” said board President Kathy Chandless. “Because the business administrator already reports directly to the board under the district’s organizational chart, Mr. Driscoll is the logical choice to assume this role.”
Puckett has been appointed assistant superintendent of the Chichester School District. His resignation will be effective Dec. 31 and former high school principal Stan Piecara will assume his duties while the district conducts a search for his replacement. Piecara also served as interim principal in 2013.
The directors accepted the resignation of fellow board member Stavroula Kotrotsios, who was elected in November 2015. Following interviews of several prospective candidates, the board voted to appoint John McKenzie to the seat.
The board also approved the demographic study completed by Sundell Associates of Cherry Hill, N.J. The report was commissioned by the district to predict future increases in enrollment from the current school year to 2021-2022 due to recent and anticipated development.
The study noted nine multi-family projects totaling 923 units have been approved for construction within the district and an additional 418 are near approval. Only 30 of the former are age-restricted.
The approved housing is expected to generate 325 school-age children, 260 of whom would attend public school. An additional 68 public school children would reside in the yet-to-be-approved units. The increases would have the most significant effect on Culbertson Elementary School, adding 136 children and raising the student population to 492, exceeding the school capacity of 408, according to the study.
Earlier this year, the board voted to engage Bonnett Associates, the architectural firm which designed the high school renovation, to evaluate, provide preliminary assessments and identify concepts for potential renovation and expansion of the middle school and four elementary schools in conjunction with the demographic study.