Following the appointments of two new principals at Bush Elementary and Oak Ridge High schools in April, the Conroe ISD board of trustees unanimously approved two additional district principals at its May 21 regular meeting.

CISD Superintendent Curtis Null first recommended Kristen Belcher, Lamar Elementary School assistant principal, to assume that school’s top role, following the announced retirement of current Principal Mary Jane Kirbo.

“Over the last few years, we’ve had an assistant principal there at Lamar that has proven herself to be a wonderful leader,” Null said of Belcher. “She fits into the culture, and she leads with a servant heart.”

Lamar Elementary School assistant principal Kristen Belcher was approved to be Lamar's next principal at the May 21 Conroe ISD board of trustees meeting.[/caption]

Belcher was unanimously approved by the board, and went on to credit Kirbo as well as her colleagues, friends and family in her acceptance speech. Null then went on to recommend a new principal for the Oak Ridge High School Ninth Grade Campus after its current principal, Anthony LiVecchi, was appointed to lead Oak Ridge High School last month. Null named Klein ISD administrator Melanie Bujnoch as LiVecchi’s successor at the Oak Ridge freshman facility.

“We went into the process looking for someone who could bring energy, who could bring even more new ideas to the program, and we feel that we’ve found the right person,” Null said of Bujnoch. “We found a great leader in Klein ISD who comes very highly recommended, and when you look at her resume you see many great things that she’s done.”

Bujnoch was also unanimously approved by the board. In her acceptance speech, Bujnoch said she hopes to continue LiVecchi’s work at the school and build on her experiences from KISD.

Klein ISD administrator Melanie Bujnoch was named principal of the Oak Ridge High School Ninth Grade Campus at the May 21 board meeting.[/caption]

Following those appointments, the board went on to consider the mascot for one of the district’s new schools and approve two large supply purchases. CISD Deputy Superintendent of Schools Gregg Colschen announced the mascot of Stallions for Stockton Junior High School, set to open for the 2020-21 school year. Colschen said the mascot was chosen by a nearly 2-1 vote over fellow finalists Stingrays and Spartans following a community selection process.

Stockton’s school colors of maroon and gray were also announced at the board session. The board will vote on the mascot and color scheme at its regular meeting in June.

The board’s two purchase approvals May 21 included a three-year office supply contract with Daniel Office Products and a one-time supply package to fulfill the needs of Suchma Elementary School's language arts program ahead of the campus opening this fall. The office supply contract, which includes thousands of items for districtwide use, was estimated at $880,000 annually to be paid from the district’s general fund. The Suchma order, which includes books and other materials sourced from 10 total vendors, was estimated at $160,000 to be paid from the district bond fund.