The following schools will have new principals at the helm this year: St. Anne in Rock Hill, St. Anthony in Florence, St. Francis on Hilton Head Island, St. Peter in Beaufort, and Christ Our King in Mount Pleasant.
St. Anne, Rock Hill
Principal: Oratorian Father Fabio Refosco
Age: 47
Hometown: Porto Alegre, Brazil
Education: A bachelor’s degree in business administration and philosophy; master’s in marketing and theology
Previous position: Father Fabio is also parochial vicar of St. Anne Church
Family: Oratorian brothers, plus family in Brazil
Who influenced your life? My grandmother
Who would you like to meet? “Everyone I meet is in my list. God prepares me to embrace them.”
St. Anthony, Florence
Principal: James M. Anderson
Age: 64
Hometown: Bellwood, Ill.
Education: A master’s in education
Previous position: Principal of St. John Neumann in Lilburn, Ga.
Family: Two grown daughters
Who influenced your life? My parents
Who would you like to meet? The pope
St. Francis, Hilton Head Island
Principal: Brian Pope
Age: 32
Hometown: Hilton Head Island
Education: bachelor’s in education, working toward master’s in administration
Previous position: Assistant principal at St. Francis
Family: Wife Amanda and baby daughter Camille
Who influenced your life? Msgr. Martin T. Laughlin
Who would you like to meet? The pope
St. Peter, Beaufort
Principal: Joseph R. Benning
Age: 56
Hometown: Streator, Ill.
Education: A bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science, a master’s in education
Previous position: Principal of Sacred Heart in Lombard, Ill.
Family: Wife Katherine; two grown children, Jennifer and Joe
Who influenced your life? My baseball coach, Phillip Hadley
Who would you like to meet? Pope Benedict
Christ Our King, Mount Pleasant
Operating under a principal/president model.
Principal: Larry Oleksiak
Age: No comment
Hometown: Charleston, S.C.
Education: Master’s of Science
Previous position: Assistant principal of Christ Our King
Family: His wife, three grown children, and two grandchildren
Who influenced your life? Roman Wascinski
Who would you like to meet? Father Phillip Eichner, SM
Christ Our King, Mount Pleasant
President: John Byrnes
Age: 51
Hometown: Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Education: A bachelor’s degree in accounting
Previous position: Business owner and school board member
Family: Wife Sally and a daughter
Who influenced your life? My parents
Who would you like to meet? George Washington and the other founding fathers.
According to John Byrnes, the pastors of Christ Our King-Stella Maris School made the decision to implement a president/principal model effective with the 2012-2013 school year.
This model recognizes that it is important for a school to focus on the day-to-day operations plus the future of the school, Byrnes wrote. The size of the campus and enrollment, the rising costs of providing a quality Catholic education, and the importance of remaining financially strong make this system perfect for our school.
Under it, the president is the school’s chief executive with overall responsibility. He will work with the pastors; be responsible for management of business, finances and facilities; serve as community liaison; and handle other areas such as marketing, fundraising and recruitment.
The principal will then be free to focus on the day-to-day internal aspects such as academics, curriculum, faculty supervision and development, and students’ activities.
Byrnes, a long-time school board member, was named president, and Larry Oleksiak was tapped as principal.