SOUTHINGTON — Troy Beall, who has served the past two years as the Southington Local Schools’ middle and high school principal, will be taking on a new role as district superintendent.

The board of education on Wednesday approved a three-year contract for Beall on a 210-day contract starting Aug. 1 at $94,500.

Beall said before coming to Southington, he was a high school teacher and baseball and golf coach for 18 years. He also was an administrator for 10 years in Fort Meyers, Florida.

He said although he was a native Floridian, he came to Ohio to continue his career.

“With Southington being a smaller district than where I came from in Florida, which had 115 schools in the district and a high school with more than 2,200 students, you can have a greater impact on what you can do,” Beall said.

Beall said he will continue to focus on safety updates in the school district to make it as safe as possible for staff and students

“I feel learning can’t happen until all the students and staff feel safe,” he said.

He said last year, all cellphones were placed in classroom pouches, which led to better engagement in the classroom between teacher and students and less social media drama.

Beall said this year, all staff members will have a badge that will have a button they can press to alert the safety team of a student fight, a student or staff having a seizure, someone hurt, a tornado, or something suspicious happening.

The internal safety team, which includes administrators, a school nurse and teachers, can put a building into lockdown and alert 911 dispatch.

“This is a great system to have in place that will serve many purposes,” Beall said.

ROCCO NERO

The board thanked Rocco Nero for his 12 years of service to the district as superintendent and as high school principal.

The board accepted Nero’s resignation as superintendent effective July 31. He was granted a one-year, 120-day contract as a school district administrator effective Aug. 1 at $57,840.

Nero said he has enjoyed his time in Southington, which is the end of his 49-year career in the education field.

“You came here and steadied our ship and I appreciate that. We thank you for what you have done. You deserve to enjoy your retirement and the next chapter of your life,” said board member Elizabeth Dunn.

Board member Steve Gilanyi said Nero has led the district in the right direction and was here when the coronavirus pandemic occurred in 2020.

“It has been a good run with you here,” Gilanyi said.

Nero has worked for Lowellville, Bristol and Southington schools.