Notre Dame to transition to president/principal model beginning July 1

Notre Dame Regional High School announced Monday, April 8, that it will be transitioning to a president/principal model Monday, July 1.

Current principal Tim Garner will assume the role of president, while assistant principal Paul Unterreiner will fill Garner’s role as principal.

The president/principal model is a popular model of administration at private schools throughout the country, where the president will handle responsibilities, such as managing the school budget, school improvements and working with donors. The principal will oversee the day-to-day operation of the school with duties such as maintaining academic goals, handling situations that require discipline and focusing on student attendance. Notre Dame decided to take up the model following a lengthy strategic planning process that began in February 2022.

Tim Garner

“We were able to identify areas that the school was really good at and areas that we could work on in terms of expanding in the future,” Garner said. “One of the things that was identified in the process is in terms of running a private school is there are so many responsibilities. ... We’re able to split up those responsibilities and use our strengths on the business side in terms of approaching needs, and then, on an interpersonal side, with dealing with the day-to-day running of the school building.”

Garner explained the model in business terms.

“If you look at it from a business perspective, it’s essentially creating a CEO and a COO,” Garner said. You have the CEO who’s worried about the overall business, making sure that the business is financially sound and making sure that any expansions and everything from a 10,000-foot view is happening. The COO is making sure that things on the daily are happening in the way they’re supposed to be happening.”

Paul Unterreiner

Garner explained he has “absolute trust” in Unterreiner’s ability as a principal, and that the school district otherwise “wouldn’t be moving forward with this transition.”

In addition to Garner and Unterreiner’s promotions, Laura Halter, the school’s current director of student life, and Robert Michael, the current technology coordinator, will each assume the role of assistant principal, while Amanda Mueth, who currently works in Notre Dame’s counselor’s office, will take over as director of curriculum.