New Faces, New Places: West Bloomfield Elementary Principals Announced

The West Bloomfield School District announced this week that two currently-employed elementary school principals will be transferred and one will be laid off as a result of reconfiguration efforts.

Roderick MacNeal, Jr., who currently leads Ealy Elementary School, was chosen as the new principal of Sheiko Elementary, which will house children in grades 3-5 beginning in the 2013-14 school year.

Robin Kocher, who currently leads Sheiko Elementary, will shift to lead Doherty Elementary, which will move to a grades K-2 structure.

All three schools currently house grades K-5. The Board of Education voted in Sept. 2012 to close Ealy Elementary as part of its school facilities and enrollment plan. 

The district announced that current Doherty principal along with Kocher, will be laid off after the current school year.

"Mrs. Funk is to be highly commended for her leadership, exceptional hard work and dedication to the West Bloomfield School District," wrote Superintendent Dr. Gerald Hill in an announcement to parents. "All of us in the school district express our sincere thank you to Ms. Funk for her two years of service in leading Doherty Elementary and wish her well in her future professional endeavors." 

The current principals at the district's other elementary schools—including Gretchko, Roosevelt, and Scotch—as well as Abbott and Orchard Lake Middle Schools, West Bloomfield High School and Oakland Early College, are all expected to remain at their posts.

, was made by an objective consultant, in part to deal with the district's issue of declining enrollment and thus declining revenue in recent years.