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Former Chaney High School principal moved to new post
Photo
Erik Thorson
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
After more than two months on paid administrative leave, the former Chaney High School principal is being moved to a new post.
Erik Thorson, who was Chaney principal last year, will be the district’s coordinator of building and grounds and report to Superintendent Connie Hathorn.
Thorson will be paid $85,003, the same salary he was to earn as the school principal under a one-year contract approved last March.
In late May, Hathorn placed Thorson on leave, pending the outcome of an investigation. The reasons for the leave weren’t specified.
Atty. Ted Roberts, who represents the school board, said the investigation proved inconclusive.
“It had to do with an academic issue and the coursework of a student,” Roberts said. There were no other accusations alleged.
A school board meeting last month included a resolution to consider firing Thorson, but that resolution was pulled from the agenda before the start of the meeting.
“After the investigation, we didn’t have all the evidence needed to go further with termination,” Hathorn said.
The board had already hired a principal for the Chaney post.
Atty. David Engler, who represents Thorson, said Thorson has accepted the coordinator position.
“It’s a positive for Dr. Thorson and a positive for the school district,” Engler said.
The new position will give Thorson, whose background is primarily that of an educator, an additional skill set in management, he said.
Engler said his client didn’t do anything to merit a suspension and called the termination resolution on the agenda a misunderstanding.
“No one is happy to go through an administrative suspension,” Engler said. “No one is happy to do that, but it happens and you go forward.”