Former 'Principal of the Year' Hired for Portsmouth High School

Jeffrey Sincoski of Charlestown has been appointed as interim assistant principal for , announced Principal Robert Littlefield in an e-mail to parents Wednesday. 

Sincoski will fill the position left vacant after the resignation of Dr. Lori McEwen. 

"I am happy to announce the appointment of Mr. Jeffrey Sincoski of Charlestown, RI, as our interim assistant principal at Portsmouth High School," Littlefield writes. "Our other assistant principal, Mr. Goss, has been shouldering the load for the whole school."

Sincoski is a former principal of Pier Middle School in Narragansett, where he was named the "Rhode Island Principal of the Year" in 2004. Previous to his service in Narragansett, he served as assistant principal for Chariho High School. 

Sincoski will serve as the primary administrator for grades 9 and 11. Parents, wishing to contact him, may send an e-mail to sincoskij@portsmouthschoolsri.org. 

At least two Portsmouth School Committee members were against the appointment at Tuesday night's meeting. School Committee member Angela Volpicelli motioned to eliminate the second assistant principal position at the high school. 

Following a passionate plea by Littlefield for the board to reconsider, the committee shot down the motion in a 5-2 vote with Volpicelli and Marilyn King in favor. 

The committee then voted to appoint an interim assistant superintendent. The vote was 5-2 again with King and Volpicelli against. 

Melville Elementary School principal retires

The School Committee announced Tuesday the retirement of . 

Olson has served as principal for the past 15 years. Prior to that, she was a principal in the Coventry school system for eight years after moving to Rhode Island from Florida.

School Committee votes against privatizing custodians 

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Local 2669, wore green T-shirts and held up protest signs reading "Keep the Custodians" and "Down with Privatization" during Tuesday's meeting. 

The union members were protesting plans to privatize custodial services in Portsmouth schools. 

The school committee later voted against a Request for Proposal to outsource for custodial services, reported Hard Deadlines blogger John McDaid. The vote was 5-2 with Jonathan Harris and Cynthia Perrotti in favor.