The Pinellas County School Board has approved new principals at six schools for the coming school year, with the changes driven primarily by retirements and internal transfers.
At the middle school level, Karen Huzar will move from East Lake Middle School to Carwise Middle School, where she will replace retiring principal Chad Eiben. Huzar has been with the district since 2001 and has led East Lake since 2015. Her replacement at East Lake has not yet been named.
At the high school level, Edward Ste’Phan Lane, currently acting principal at Kings Highway Elementary, will transfer to Bayside High School. He succeeds Brad Bernstein, who has been appointed principal of Osceola Fundamental High. Lane has served the district since 1997, with prior stints as an assistant principal at Lakewood and Boca Ciega high schools. The Kings Highway opening has not yet been filled.
Michael Vasallo, an assistant principal at Gibbs High School, will be promoted to principal of Northeast High School. He takes over from Michael Hernandez, who was recently named the district’s executive director of high school education. Vasallo previously served as principal of Dunedin Highland Middle School from 2017 to 2022.
At the elementary level, Brandice Miller, assistant principal at Cross Bayou Elementary, will become principal of Anona Elementary, replacing Denise Ballard, who transferred to an assistant principal role at Tarpon Springs Elementary. Jolene Jackson, currently the district’s director of professional learning, will take over as principal of Oakhurst Elementary, succeeding retiring principal Kelly Kennedy.
Additional principal appointments are expected as the district fills the vacancies created by the moves.
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