Administrative changes are coming to Milton Area School District for the 2024-25 school year, with some of these impacting the high school.
According to Superintendent Dr. John Bickhart, Mr. Michael Bergey is currently a co-principal of the high school but is expected to be the head principal next school year. Mr. Bergey’s responsibilities will shift to include managing some of Co-Principal Mr. Andrew Rantz’s duties.
“Mr. William Campbell will be supporting the high school in his current role as Dean of Students as he continues to pursue his administrative degree,” said Dr. Bickhart, in an April 17 email to district employees.
According to Dr. Bickhart, Mr. Campbell intends to become the assistant principal at the high school. The roles are different because principals and assistants are part of the Act 93 Team/Agreement which governs administrators, he added.
Dr. Bickhart said he does not anticipate continuing the Dean of Students position. The goal is that there will be principals and assistant principals at both the middle and high school, he added.
Dr. Bickhart said it will be a huge change for the high school to have Mr. Campbell there full-time next year, instead of being assigned to both the secondary schools.
“…His energy, his work, excitement for what he does and what he brings to the culture of the high school will be very important,” said Dr. Bickhart.
Middle School Principal Mr. Gregory Scoggins will also be changing positions to become the K-3 Curriculum and Federal Programs Coordinator, according to Dr. Bickhart’s email. The new Middle School principal will be Mr. Seth Decker, and the assistant principal will be Mr. Lee Kaar, he added.
All these changes began with the resignation of former Director of Education Dr. Daphne Kirkpatrick last Sep. 29.
Dr. Bickhart said that he anticipated the administrative moves would take time to resolve. “Allowing time, input and conversations to happen… put us in position for the 2024-25 school year,” he said.
The students will be positively affected since this plan will provide more consistency at both the high school and middle school, added Dr. Bickhart.
“I hope the changes are more beneficial for the teachers. They will have two administrators in the building, and they will know who the direct principal is,” said Dr. Bickhart. “They’ll have the support of Mr. Rantz as the Director of Secondary Education, which will be completely focused on curriculum instruction and assessment.”
Mr. Rantz said he will now be in charge of “all things 6-12.” He will oversee structure, curriculum and assessments, making sure that all the staff is on the same page, he added.
According to Dr. Bickhart, these administrative changes are not yet officially finalized. “Everything has been presented and discussed, but the school board must make some final decisions,” he added. In May, the school board will hold another meeting to finalize the positions, he said.
The proposed administrative structure of having a principal and an assistant principal is already standard practice at other schools in our area, according to Dr. Bickhart, he added there was a need for curriculum changes as well.
“There’s been a lot of shifting and moving of positions since COVID,” Mr. Rantz said. “Now it is time to get people in those positions.”
