Cherokee School Board Welcomes Two New Assistant Superintendents

The Cherokee County School Board on Thursday congratulated two newly appointed assistant superintendents on their new roles with the school district.

With its approval of Superintendent Dr. Frank Petruzielo’s monthly personnel recommendations, the board approved the appointment of Kenneth Owen as assistant superintendent of financial management and Susan McCarthy as assistant superintendent of educational programs, student support and professional development.

The appointments were spurred by the recent announcements that Assistant Superintendent of Financial Management Candler Howell is retiring this month, and Letitia Cline, assistant superintendent of educational programs, student support and professional development, will retire in December.

Owen brings more than 25 years in accounting and finance to the role, including previous experience as the district’s director of grants accounting, internal audits and budgets and director of grants management, as well as serving as financial aid director for Reinhardt University and Piedmont College.

Marjorie DeFrank, current district supervisor of accounting, budgets and system applications, has been appointed as director for the department. She previously has worked in accounting leadership roles for Kennesaw State University, United Parcel Service and Price Waterhouse.

McCarthy comes to her new post with a wealth of classroom and administrative experience, most recently as district director of school improvement. She joined the Cherokee County School District in 1998 as a teacher at E.T. Booth Middle School, and served as principal of Chapman Intermediate School, assistant principal of Teasley Middle School and as a district teacher on special assignment.

“These leaders will be filling very important shoes in our operations, and I know each will succeed based on their knowledge, experience and record of dedication to CCSD and our students,” Petruzielo said.

Board members on Thursday also approved the retirement of Ken Johnson, the district’s director of transportation, after more than 30 years of service to the school system.

Johnson joined Cherokee County in 1981 as a PE teacher and went on to serve as assistant principal at Arnold Mill, Bascomb and Little River Elementary Schools and as principal at R.M. Moore Elementary from 1999 to 2008.

“He was a high-performing principal and went on to be a high-performing director of transportation,” Petruzielo said, praising Johnson as a “role model,” who improved all facets of the department ranging from routing efficiency to driver training.

The board also took the following actions:

• Heard from one public speaker during the public input session on 2015-16 school boundaries; the superintendent’s only boundary redrawing recommendation for the board’s consideration at its Dec. 4 meeting are two scrivener’s corrections to realign neighborhoods under construction, which will not affect any current district students.
• Recognized Sequoyah High School Junior Mackenzie Joy for her perfect score on the ACT;
• Recognized high school seniors named 2015 National Merit and National Achievement semi-finalists: the National Merit Scholarship Program Semi-Finalists are: Kathryn Huller of Cherokee High School, Joshua Whitley of Creekview High School, Joseph D. Litrel of Etowah High School and Chetan Velivela of River Ridge High School; the National Achievement Scholarship Program Semi-Finalists are: Austin P. Floyd and Ebony N. Scott of Cherokee, Felicia N. Williams of River Ridge and Langston H. Leake of Sequoyah;
• Recognized students for first-place awards in statewide Fire Prevention Week contests: Avery Elementary School fifth-grader Madeline Holley is a statewide first-place winner in the calendar art contest; Creekview sophomore Kayla McCloud is the statewide first-place winner for Grade 10 in the essay contest;
• Recognized Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy Principal Dr. Jennifer Scrivner as an appointee to Governor’s Principal Advisory Board;
• Recognized staff for Georgia School Public Relations Association (GSPRA) Publication Awards; and
• Approved the 2015 Legislative Program.

Photo: Susan McCarthy, left, has been appointed to serve as the district’s assistant superintendent of educational programs, student support and professional development while Kenneth Owen has been tapped as the assistant superintendent of financial management. Credit: Cherokee County School District