Trapper Creek sees new school principal

As students and parents get ready for school to start up, a few noteworthy changes have taken place in the Mat-Su Borough School District.Trapper Creek Elementary School will see a new teaching principal. Replacing last year’s principal Mitzi Garrison is Allison Wall. According to school district spokeswoman Catherine Esary, Wall has been a teacher with the district in Palmer from 2000 until present. Prior to that, she taught school at the Denali Borough school district in Healy after having taught at the Liverpool school district in New York.

Esary could not comment on why Garrison’s contract was not renewed by the school board, but said that the need for a new principal became known on June 1.

Heading Su Valley Junior-Senior High School is Dr. Reese Everett. He comes from Houston High School and is replacing principal Rob Picou. Picou landed the position as the new Bering Strait School District superintendent and moved to Unalakleet.

Talkeetna Elementary School won’t see any changes as principal Carol Wadman returns for her second year to the school.

Another change took place at the school district’s top administrative level. The school district’s superintendent George Troxel retired in June and has been replaced by Dr. Kenneth Burnley. Burnley comes from Michigan, where he was a Senior Fellow under a Kellogg Foundation grant at the University of Michigan. Burnley also hired a new assistant superintendent for business and operations, Dr. Ken Forrest of the Travis Unified School District, California. Burnley and Forrest have worked together before for 13 years in Colorado school districts.

Assistant superintendent of education, Dr. Deena Paramo’s contract has been extended with added workdays.