School district, principal reach exit agreement

The Miller Creek School District and a former district principal have reached a settlement agreement following his departure at the beginning of the year.

Stephen Coyle, principal of Miller Creek School District for the first six months of the 2022-23 school year, resigned Jan. 9.

His salary was $146,161 annually. He will receive a lump sum of three months' pay, according to the agreement with the district. He will also receive health insurance benefits through June 30.

Neither the settlement agreement, obtained through a public records request by the Independent Journal, nor Coyle's letter of resignation offer a reason for his departure.

Becky Rosales, Miller Creek superintendent, and human resources consultant Lars Christensen, who handled the public records request, declined to comment on the circumstances of his exit as per terms of the agreement. Coyle could not be reached for comment.

Coyle, a Rohnert Park resident and a former assistant principal in the Cotati-Rohnert Park School District prior to coming to Miller

Creek, was hired effective July 1 after a search to replace former principal Tenisha TateAustin.

Tate-Austin resigned effective June 30 after three years on the job to pursue other employment, according to her departure announcement to school families last year.

On Jan. 17, the Miller Creek district announced it had hired Anna Lazzarini, a former teacher, assistant principal and principal at Mill Valley Middle School, as interim principal at Miller Creek Middle School. Lazzarini retired from the Mill Valley School District after 10 years of service when she was recruited out of retirement to serve in the interim position at Miller Creek.

Coyle has since been hired as assistant principal at Rincon Valley Middle School in Santa Rosa, according to the school's website.

Prior to serving as assistant principal in the CotatiRohnert Park School District, Coyle spent 15 years working in the Philadelphia public school district.

Rosales said Tuesday that Miller Creek officials will conduct a search this spring for a permanent principal at the middle school. The district expects to have a new principal in place by July 1.