Avon Grove School District superintendent Dr. Christopher Marchese offered an update on the search for a new high school principal at the May 28 meeting, saying that district officials have now conducted two rounds of interviews. The candidates have been interviewed and evaluated by committees of stakeholders in the district. Marchese said that the next step in the process is arranging site visitations for the finalists, and the search process is on schedule for the administration to recommend a new principal to the school board in time for the June 11 meeting.

Current high school principal Thomas Alexander was appointed last month to the central office position of director of educational support services. He will begin the new job on July 1.

In other business at the May 28 meeting, the school board approved a new contract, by a vote of 7-0, between the district and the Avon Grove Educational Support Professional Association. The new pact is effective July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2018.

The school board once again had the opportunity to honor Avon Grove High School senior Tyler Mebane, who recently was named a National Merit Scholarship winner. As a National Merit Scholarship winner, Mebane is one of just 2,500 students who were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program. Mebane told the school board that he will attend Arizona State University in the fall to study aerospace engineering.

The school board unanimously approved a proposal to allow for community use of the high school track Monday through Friday during the hours after school dismisses until sunset. The use of the track by community members is contingent on the track not being used for a school event or practice.

This was the last meeting for Devin Rudisill, an Avon Grove High School senior who serves as the student representative on the school board. School board members took turns lauding Rudisill’s contributions. School board president Brian Gaerity said that Rudisill always brings a positive attitude to the meetings. After the board presented Rudisill with a thank-you gift, the high school senior commented that serving on the board has helped her become much more comfortable with public speaking.

The school board will meet again on Thursday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Avon Grove Intermediate Audion. The second meeting in June and both meetings in July have been canceled, so after the June 11 meeting, the board will not meet again until Thursday, Aug. 13.