School Administrators Appointed In Ellington

ELLINGTON, CT — Four new school system administrators were appointed by the Ellington Board of Education Wednesday, school system officials said. Three are internal promotions, officials said.

Michael Nash and Michele Murray were named co-principals to at Ellington Middle School to take over for the retiring David Pearson. Murray, of Glastonbury, currently serves as the school system's curriculum supervisor for English, social studies and world languages. Nash lives in Tolland and is currently an assistant principal at Ellington Middle School and Ellington High School. Nash will earn $127, 761 and Murray $134,859 in their new roles.

Superintendent of Schools Scott Nichol said the co-principal roles were "no something we set out to do," but, during the search process, it became clear the set up "really provided the most positives."

He added, "Both have worked together fox six years and a lot of work has already been done by them in the middle school."

The co-principal set-up eliminates the need for an assistant principal's position, which will net a saving of $10,000 to $20,000 in the first year, then become "cost-neutral" and "ensures continuity of leadership for a good decade," Nichol said.

Elizabeth Cole of Ellington is to succeed Nash as assistant principal at EHS. She was most recently a national professional development facilitator. She will make $133,439.

Michael Verderame will take over for the retiring Trudy Luck Roberts as the Center Elementary School principal. Verderame is currently an instructional supervisor for the Wethersfield public school system. He will earn $145,677.