UPDATE | Austintown superintendent denies latest principal demoted

AUSTINTOWN — Superintendent Vince Colaluca said former Austintown Intermediate School principal Jeff Swavel’s move to Austintown Fitch High School to be an assistant principal is not a demotion.

On Tuesday, the district moved former Austintown Middle School principal James Penk to Fitch as an assistant principal. Penk took a cut in pay with the move, and it was described as punishment following an internal investigation.

Swavel also requested the move, and he will receive the same pay, Colaluca said.

The superintendent said the move was not related to a written reprimand Swavel received in May after after a camera set up by cafeteria workers produced pictures of him taking food from the school cafeteria. He reportedly paid for the food later and told administrators it was an oversight.

Swavel has ambitions for a central office job in the future, Colaluca said.

“For anyone who wants to climb that ladder,” Colaluca said. “Most people that get in the central office come from high schools.”

The move is part of a larger reorganization plan which will reduce the number of principals in the district from 13 to 12.

Fitch assistant principal David Purins will be leaving the district to take another job. Fitch assistant principal Michael Saulner will take Swavel’s role at AIS, and Fitch assistant principal Ben Baldner will take Penk’s role at AMS.

The district credited the decision to reduce staff to a tighter budget, with an expected 250 fewer students in the 2017-2018 school year.