The Hillsboro R-3 School District will have at least three new principals and two new assistant principals next school year.
Bill Murphy will take over as Hillsboro Junior High principal, Leslie Marchetti will be the new Hillsboro Intermediate principal and Eric Detweiler is the incoming Hillsboro Elementary principal. In addition, Billy Reece will be a new Hillsboro High School assistant principal at the district’s Learning Center, and Barry Ijames is an incoming Hillsboro Intermediate assistant principal.
Board members named Detweiler and Ijames to their new jobs in a February executive session, and the others were named to their new jobs in a January executive session, all by 6-0 votes. There is one vacant seat on the board following Lisa Welker’s resignation in October.
Murphy
Murphy, who was chosen out of 22 applicants for the Junior High School principal spot, currently is assistant principal of Washington Junior High School in the Mehlville School District in St. Louis County, Superintendent Jon Isaacson reported.
He will replace Heath Allison, who will retire at the end of the current school year.
“Mr. Murphy has experience working in both a small-school and a large-school setting,” Isaacson said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge in the area of curriculum and instruction, as well as proven leadership in the middle school grades.”
Murphy said he’s looking forward to working at Hillsboro.
“I really enjoyed the support I found from the community and the leadership that surrounds the school district and the junior high,” Murphy said.
Murphy has a bachelor’s degree in education from Missouri State University and master’s degrees in middle school math education and education administration from Walden University (in Minneapolis). He is scheduled to graduate in April with a doctorate in educational leadership at Maryville University.
He said he is excited to step into a principal job and begin the next stage of his career path.
“This will be my first head principal job,” he said. “It felt like a really good fit.”
Murphy will be paid an annual salary of $103,103 as the Hillsboro Junior High principal. His current salary is about $98,000. Allison’s salary this school year is $111,034.
Murphy, 42, and his wife, Randi, live in St. Louis County with their two children.
Marchetti
Isaacson said Marchetti, currently principal at Hillsboro Elementary, was selected from among 30 applicants for the Intermediate School principal job.
She will replace Scott Readnour, who will retire at the end of this school year.
“Mrs. Marchetti’s experience and leadership will benefit our students and the Intermediate School,” Isaacson said. “In particular, her work in curriculum and instruction, while leading with empathy and energy, will contribute to the positive school culture at the Intermediate School.”
Marchetti has worked in the district for 25 years and had been assistant principal at the Intermediate School from 2016 until taking over as the Hillsboro Elementary principal in October 2022.
“I am very honored to be able to go back and lead a building I believe is a strong building,” she said. “I look forward to working with the students I was with last year and the ones I’m with this year, as well as to work with the faculty I worked with for years.”
Marchetti will be paid a $99,498 annual salary as the Intermediate School principal. She is being paid $96,614 this school year as the Hillsboro Elementary principal. Readnour’s current salary is $109,231.50.
Marchetti has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with certification in special education from Missouri State University. She has a master’s degree in educational administration from Southeast Missouri State University, as well as a specialist degree in superintendency from Missouri Baptist University.
Marchetti, 47, and her husband, Nick, live in De Soto and have two children.
Detweiler
Detweiler, who will retire from his current job as principal of Frederick School in Graystake, Ill., at the end of this school year, will take over as Hillsboro Elementary principal for the 2023-2024 school year, replacing Marchetti, who is returning as principal of Hillsboro Intermediate School. He was chosen out of 23 applicants, Isaacson said.
“Mr. Detweiler has served as a building principal of the same school in northern Illinois for over 20 years,” Isaacson said. “His experience and fresh perspectives will be invaluable not only to the Elementary School, but to our entire administration team.”
Detweiler said he was seeking a job closer to family in the St. Louis area.
“Kendall, my middle daughter, lives in Highland, Ill.,” he said. “We were looking to move closer to her family.
“Looking at different places, this opportunity came up. I liked the area. It seems like a good community.”
Detweiler has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in education from Roosevelt University (in Chicago).
His annual salary as Hillsboro Elementary principal will be $103,824. His salary this year at Frederick School is approximately $140,000.
Detweiler, 58, and his wife, Chris, have three children.
Reece
Reece, picked from 40 applicants for the Hillsboro High School assistant principal-Learning Center post, currently teaches seventh-grade social studies at Festus Middle School, Isaacson said.
“Mr. Reece will be a first-year administrator after previously serving as a teacher at Festus,” Isaacson said. “His energy and experience working with various student groups, on leadership teams and developing a community service program, will be an asset to the Learning Center students and staff.”
Reece will replace Jim Ramsey, who will retire at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
Reece said he is eager to become an administrator and to work at the Learning Center.
“I got my master’s in educational leadership from Southeast Missouri last year,” he said. “It’s not like I was looking to leave Festus, but this job popped up and it really spoke to me. It’s at the Learning Center where we have kids on paths different from everyone else and (the purpose) is trying to get them ready for their next step in life.”
In addition to his master’s degree, Reece completed a bachelor’s degree in education at Missouri Baptist University after earning an associate degree from Jefferson College.
He will be paid $86,520 next school year as an assistant principal in the Hillsboro district after making about $50,000 this year as a teacher at Festus. Ramsey’s current salary is $97,695.
Reece, 36, and his wife, Laura, have four children and live in Festus.
Ijames
Isaacson said Ijames, currently a sixth-grade math teacher at Senn-Thomas Middle School in the Dunklin R-5 School District, was chosen out of 52 applicants for the Intermediate School assistant principal position.
“Mr. Ijames previously served as a high school math teacher at Hillsboro High School,” Isaacson said. “While this will be his first year as an administrator, he will bring enthusiasm, new perspectives and energy to the Intermediate School and our administration team.”
The Intermediate School assistant principal position currently is vacant, Isaacson said.
Ijames said he was interested in the post because of his familiarity with the district and his desire to move to an administrative post.
“I was a teacher at Hillsboro High School before I came to Dunklin,” he said. “I am happy to come back to work at Hillsboro in administration.”
He has a bachelor’s degree in education from Harris-Stowe State University and a master’s degree in educational administration from Missouri Baptist University.
Ijames will be paid a $79,310 annual salary at Hillsboro Intermediate. His current salary is approximately $50,000, he said.
Ijames, 33, and his wife, Brittany, have three children and live in Hillsboro.