New CFES principal and new board member to be named

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on June 11, 2014

New faces will be showing up in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. One will be a new school board director and the other will be a new fulltime principal at Chadds Ford Elementary School.

Superintendent of Schools John Sanville said the principal would be announced at the June 16 board meeting. He made the announcement at the June 9 work session.

Sanville said the screening process began with 60 applicants who were interviewed by administrators and board members. The number was whittled down to 16, then to seven, then three before getting to the one to be named.

Sanville did not want to announce the name at the workshop because the administration is currently working out contract details and the fact that the person is a sitting principal who needs to give notice.

Former Principal Mark Ransford unexpectedly retired in April following a breakdown in testing protocols in March. It was reported that Ransford had given 12 students extra time to finish sections of the PSSA exam.

Tom Tobin has been filling in as principal on an interim basis.

A new principal won’t be the only new appointment the board will make on June 16. Members will also vote on an appointment to fill the seat vacated by Eileen Bushelow, who stepped down from the board for personal reasons.

The board interviewed four people for the position during the work session. They are Bennett Baird, Arnie Klingenberg, Robert Sage and Hsinte James Yen. (See photo.)

Klingenberg, of Birmingham Township, grew up in the school district, eventually graduating from Penn State and going into business. He returned to Birmingham when he started his own company so his children could go to schools in U-CF.

He said he wanted them to have peer pressure for “where they would go to college, not if.”

Baird, who has a doctorate in chemical engineering, is retired from DuPont and now has his own research and development business. He’s been living in the district for 34 years.

He said his goal would be to help maintain and build on the district’s excellent reputation. In response to a question regarding advocacy, Baird said board members should advocate for the needs of the schools, the stakeholders and the students.

Yen is originally from Taiwan and said that he prefers the Western style of education to the model used in Asia. Western education is far more creative and is less stressful.

He coaches sports and is involved with Lego Robotics.

Sage moved into the district four years ago and has three sons attending Pocopson Elementary School. “What happens here in the next 10 years is critical for my family.”

He said his career in corporate America gives him a good background for being on the board, enabling him to be a credible spokesperson for the district and enhance the board’s creativity.

The appointment would be for 18 months and each applicant was asked whether they would run for election next year if named to the board now. Only Sage said yes. The others said they had made no decision on that.

Board President Vic Dupuis said all four candidates are solid and would make a good board member.

Director Michael Rock echoed Dupuis, saying, “We almost can’t make a mistake.”

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.