Archdiocese: Church School to Select New Head Before Easter

Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School should have a new principal selected by Easter, a Catholic church official said this week.

The job opening has been published in several Catholic school-related publications, and the search is being overseen by a committee of educators, religious figures and parents at the school, according to a statement from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. The new principal will replace Tricia DeWitt, who announced her resignation last month.

The school vacancy will be published through March 25, and while the school hopes to select a replacement by Easter, it has set an ultimate deadline of May 1, the statement said. A new principal would be expected to begin in July.

Members of the search committee include:

• Patty Childs, principal of St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School
• Consuelo Bills, parent
• Marty Banks, parent
• Pat Durrett, parent and member of the school's advisory council
• Bob Zimmer, parent
• Diane Starkovich, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Atlanta
• the Rev. James Schillinger, pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church

Pat Chivers, an archdiocese spokeswoman, reiterated this week that DeWitt was not fired or forced from her job.

“She is still there and has just decided not to come back this fall," she said.

The archdiocese declined to talk in detail about DeWitt's resignation, and the principal did not return a phone call for comment earlier this week. But the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported March 4 that DeWitt's resignation is thanks to a dispute between herself and Schillinger over an anonymous $1 million donation to the school announced last year. Schillinger reportedly wanted to know the donor's identity, and DeWitt refused. The rift has led to concerns that the donor may withdrawl his donation as well.

Those disputes also led parents to protest DeWitt's resignation in early March. Roughly a dozen stood before the school holding protest signs. DeWitt sent a letter to parents, however, asking that the protests stop and acknowledged undisclosed tensions between her and Schillinger. 

"We must all work together to make sure that nothing will tarnish what we have accomplished at IHM School," DeWitt wrote. "Protests and petitions will not change the situation and will reflect poorly upon our Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. ... Anything that occurs on school grounds creates confusion for the students and is not in the best interest of our school."