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Chester County Press

Vogt named principal of Nottingham School

06/25/2013 08:37PM ● By Acl

By Steven Hoffman

Staff Writer

The June 20 Oxford School Board meeting began with new superintendent David Woods taking a seat at the table with the school board for the first time. A few minutes later, the school board approved one of the first major personnel moves in the Woods era by promoting William Vogt to the position of principal at Nottingham School.

Vogt, who has been the assistant principal at the school for the last seven months, will begin his new duties on July 1. The school board unanimously approved his appointment for the 2013-14 school year.

Woods said that a committee that included administrators and teachers paper-screened an applicant pool of about 150 candidates before selecting the top candidates for interviews. Vogt emerged from the interview process as the top candidate.

“As a team, we are pleased to bring this quality candidate forward for appointment,” Woods said.

Vogt has a total of 14 years of professional experience as an educator. He earned his undergraduate degree at West Chester University and a master’s degree at Millersville University. He completed the principal certification work at California University of Pennsylvania.

Before coming to Oxford, Vogt worked in the School District of Lancaster. He served as a facilitator at McCaskey East High School, a role that is similar to a dean of students position. He also served as a teacher for grades four to six.

While the school board was welcoming Woods and Vogt, the conclusion of another school year is a time to say goodbye to other teachers, administrators, and students.

The school board honored a number of elementary and secondary teachers for their exemplary service to the district. They include Roberta McManus (39 years), Donna Breylinger (39 years), Elizabeth Bove (35) years, Robert Vincent (34 years), Maryjo Steele (33 years), Kathryn Elters (28 years), and Joanne Edington (24 years).

William Ray, Jr., the assistant of the Penn’s Grove School, was among the retirees for this month.

The school board also officially approved the certification for the high school seniors who recently completed all the requirements to earn a diploma.

“Congratulations to the seniors as they embark on the new portion of their lives,” said school board president Dr. Jason Brady.

Board member Joe Scheese, who serves on the district’s Technology Committee, announced that Sue Townsend was able to secure about $100,000 in grants that will help pay for some of the tablets that the district will be providing to ninth-graders during the next school year. The district wants each student in the high school to have a device to use.

Howard Robinson talked to the board about the possibility of joining a partnership with the Chester County Intermediate Unit and Specticast that would utilize the high school auditorium to broadcast performances of movies and shows.

“We could turn our auditorium into a theater,” said Robinson. He noted that the community doesn’t have a theater so there would likely me a strong demand for tickets.

“It could be a great fundraiser,” Robinson said.

Profits would be split equally with Specticast, which has a catalog of premium titles for a school district to choose from.

Noting that the school’s auditorium is seldom used throughout the year, Robinson said that he liked the fact that the auditorium would be utilized by community members since it was funded by them in the first place.

In other business at the June 20 meeting:

Board member Donna Arrowood was appointed as the treasurer for the fiscal year that begins on July 1 and ends on June 30, 2014.

The board approved a contract renewal with ServiceMaster Services for custodial services at the Administration Building, Oxford Area High School, Penn’s Grove School, Hopewell School, and Jordan Bank School. The district will pay $414,054.24 for the services for the 2013-14 school year.

The contract with CIA Security and Patrol was renewed. Beginning on July 1, and extending through June 30, 2014, the company will provide school security and will be compensated at a rate of $23.53 per hour.

During the public comment session, Kristin Gent, the community leader for the Oxford chapter of Kacie’s Cause, said that she would like to begin the process of working collaboratively with the school district to find ways to educate parents and students about the dangers of heroin.

“Parents want to know what we can do to educate children—all the children—in the district,” Gent said.

Brady said that she should meet with superintendent Woods once he officially starts with the district on July 1. This could lead to a presentation in front of the school board.

The school board decided to combine the regular meeting and workshop meeting for July, so the next meeting will take place on Thursday, July 18.