Monroe High School
Principal seeks to retire, be rehired
Robert Leahy closing out 38-year career in teaching on June 30; board to decide on rehiring in July.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Another Monroe Local Schools longtime educator and administrator wants to remain with the district as a retiree.
Robert Leahy, of Monroe, has served as principal of the Monroe High School for six years and is planning to retire from the district effective June 30 — after 35 years in education. He also would like the district's board of education to rehire him as a retiree for the next two years prior to that date, district officials said.
Extras
The board has scheduled a public meeting to consider the re-employment of Leahy at 7 p.m. on May 27 at Monroe Elementary School, 230 Yankee Road.
Leahy couldn't be reached for comment.
He is joining Patti Shull, principal of Monroe Elementary School, who also is seeking to retire and be rehired by the district.
Monroe Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said Leahy also would have to take some sort of pay cut under the proposal from his current $102,000 a year salary. Lolli said his new salary probably would fall in line with a third year administrator's salary of between $80,000 to $85,000 a year for a high school principal position in the district.
Under the proposal, she said the district is getting a very experienced administrator in Leahy for about the same pay as an entry level person.
"That's pretty good for the district to have that type of experience for a much lower salary," Lolli said.
The board plans to consider his retire/rehire option at its meeting on June 23, and decide whether to rehire him on July 21.
Lolli said Leahy is very attune to his students.
"That relationship that he has (with the students) is very strong," she said.
"To do a retire and rehire and keep a smooth transition, I think, is very important. I think that's what both of them (Leahy and Shull) bring. They bring stability in a time of change in Monroe because we don't know what our enrollment's going to be, and we're moving kids out of the building."
Prior to joining Monroe Schools, Lolli said Leahy served as a teacher for more than six years in northeastern Ohio at Windham Exempted Village School District from 1973-79, worked one year as a junior high school counselor at Little Miami Local Schools and served four years as an assistant principal at Springboro Community City School District.
He also served as an assistant principal and athletic director in the Madison Local School District for five years and as a high school principal at Madison Schools for six years. He also was a high school principal in Franklin City Schools for seven years, she said.


