Outgoing Saint Louis
principal signs on at Damien
Outgoing Saint Louis School Principal Burt Tomita has signed a contract to help launch Damien Memorial High School's new middle school.
Tomita will officially start July 1, the day after his job at Saint Louis ends.
Damien, an all-boys school in Kalihi, plans to open a school for seventh- and eighth-graders in the fall of 2004.
"I'll be part of the administrative team, concentrating on developing the middle school," Tomita said. "Damien is really doing great things, and I look forward to this opportunity. The mission they have fits exactly into how I feel about education."
Tomita is leaving Saint Louis, where he has worked for almost 30 years, after the school's president, the Rev. Allen DeLong, decided not to renew his contract. His departure created a controversy at the school, including a student petition drive and a faculty meeting with school trustees.
Tomita started as a teacher at Saint Louis and has been its principal for 12 years.