Prati Delays Retirement to Head John Paulding

Despite celebrating her early retirement at the end of June, Morse Principal Rosemary Prati has signed on for another year as interim head of John Paulding.

District Superintendent Dr. Howard Smith has been saying publicly for a while now what a hard time the school was having to find the right match to replace the legendary multi-decade tenure of Michele Milliam. These were big shoes to fill, he told the auditorium of parents at a .

Smith said this is a unique job and they haven't found the right match. “It requires a unique principal with a background in early childhood education and some administrative experience," he said. "We found people with experience but not all that relevant.”

After two rounds of searches came up empty, the Board of Education has decided to take a break. They figured they had a resource in Prati, who knows the district and knows what kids need in kindergarten “because she's been on the receiving end of them coming out,” Smith said.

Prati was among the many staged for , so Smith said she didn't mind sticking around another year to fill the gap. The search for a permanent principal for the school will resume, he said, around January.