JTown principal moves to Doss; other JCPS moves

Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Donna Hargens has tapped Marty Pollio, the principal of Jeffersontown High School, to take over as the next leader of struggling Doss High School.

The position at Doss was opened when the state earlier this year deemed then-Principal Ken Moeller as not having the capacity to lead the school.

Doss, which is labeled by the state as a priority school for being in the bottom in the state in terms of meeting objectives for students, has long struggled with raising student test scores and other issues, although it has seen improvements in recent years, including in its graduation rate.

Pollio has been leading Jeffersontown High for 8 years; he called the decision to leave and go to Doss one of the most difficult professional decisions he's had to make in his career.

"I believe my experience that I've had as a principal, and my leadership skills I've developed, will help to move Doss High School forward," Pollio said by phone. He said he plans to go to Doss on Thursday to begin to get the lay of the land. "I feel that I'm the principal that will be able to take a staff, which I understand is a great group of faculty, to move the school forward."

JCPS plans to post the opening for the Jeffersontown High principal position immediately.

The principal shuffle is not over yet for JCPS.

In addition to some principal positions that were announced earlier this summer, two other schools have chosen new principals this summer:

Brown School: Assistant Principal Angela Parsons was chosen to replace retiring Principal Tim Healy at the K-12 downtown Louisville school.

Engelhard Elementary: Blake Elementary Assistant Principal Ryan McCoy will succeed Teresa Meyer, who is retiring after 37 years as an educator.

And here are schools who are still on the hunt for their next leader:

Cane Run Elementary: Current Principal Gwen Goffner is taking a job in JCPS' human resources department working in recruitment and staffing. The current posting for that job closes June 5.

Academy @ Shawnee: Houston Barber, who came to the school in January 2014, abruptly resigned last month after taking a surprise leave of absence at the end of the school year. JCPS is still accepting applications for his replacement.

Jeffersontown High: Now that Pollio is going over to Doss High, JCPS will soon be posting an job opening for the next principal of Jeffersontown High.

Revamped alternative school: JCPS is consolidating the Kennedy Metro Middle and Buechel Metro High alternative schools into the Buechel building and renaming the school. Since both the Kennedy and Buechel principals have been moved to assistant principal positions, it's unclear who will lead the newly consolidated school.