By David Lazenby

davidl@cullmantimes.com

Two area schools will experience a change next month when Cullman High School Principal Lane Hill takes over at the city’s middle school and a retired educator from Cullman temporarily takes the reigns at CHS.

City schools superintendent Jan Harris said Hill and interim CHS Principal Douglas Styles will begin their new positions March 1.

The transition became necessary when Jayne Barnett decided to retire after a seven-year stint as principal of Cullman Middle School. Her resignation was accepted by the Cullman Board of Education at a Jan. 28 board meeting.

For Hill, who has been principal at CHS for the last five years, serving as principal of the middle school has been an aspiration since his days as a science teacher at the school.

“At that time, I thought it would be nice to be the principal there one day,” Hill said. “This will be a good opportunity.”

Harris said she and Hill discussed his desire to return to the middle school “as early as last summer.”

The school board unanimously approved the transfer recommended by Harris Monday at a regularly-scheduled monthly meeting.

“I think he will do a wonderful job, so I recommended him to the board, and the board agreed,” Harris said.

The superintendent said the school system is making the change now in order to ensure a smooth transition.

“Mrs. Barnett loves the middle school and she wants to leave it in good hands, so she didn’t want to wait until school was out,” Harris said.

Barnett said, “I feel very comfortable leaving now that Mr. Hill has agreed to come on board.”

Also, Harris said immediately making the transition will allow more time for the school board to hire Hill’s replacement.

Furthermore, she said Hill wanted to get involved with upcoming curriculum decisions at the middle school.

“I’ll make sure it’s a smooth transition on both ends,” Hill said. “What we do is about kids and we need to make sure they’re well served.”

Although she said Barnett will be missed, Harris added instructors at the middle school are excited about Hill’s arrival.

“Mrs. Barnett said the teachers were elated that Mr. Hill was coming to the middle school,” Harris said.

Although he admitted he will miss the high school, Hill said “I am looking forward to having extra time with family that the high school doesn’t afford me.”

Harris, who has worked as a principal at both a high school and middle school, said, “In high school, you have so many extracurricular activities. You have about every night taken.”

Harris said Hill will be missed at the high school.

“Mr. Hill has added so many programs and classes at the high school,” Harris said. “The high school is a much better school because of his leadership and his innovative ideas.”

Harris said she also feels comfortable with Styles assuming the role of interim CHS principal. Both Harris and Styles first met when they worked together as assistant principals at Grissom High School in Huntsville

“He actually went to East Elementary School, so he is a Cullmanite,” she said.

Styles also served as an interim principal at EES during part of the 2005-2006 school year. Harris said Styles was permanently hired for the position, but stepped down shortly thereafter due to health reasons.

Styles, who has 44 years of experience as an educator, said he graduated from Cullman High School when it was located at the middle school. Harris said Styles is not interested in his new role as a permanent position.