The Panama Central School Board officially appointed Leah Hayes as the new elementary school principal. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

PANAMA — Panama Central School has hired a new elementary school principal.

At their most recent meeting, Panama Board of Education members officially appointed Leah Hayes to take on the role of elementary principal next year. Lauren Harper, the current elementary school principal, will be moving on to a new role at Westfield.

Superintendent Aaron Wolfe thanked Harper for her years with the school.

“This is her last board meeting,” Wolfe said of Harper, “but it is a public session so you can always come back. I just really wanted to thank Lauren for all her work and I know there are many teachers who share that thanks.”

Harper thanked the board, saying that working at Panama has been “an honor.”

School board members also listened to presentations from teachers completing their first years at Panama. Teachers included Alissa Bullaro, Meagan Genco, Ashley Little, Quinn Payne and Dennis Roberts.

Each teacher described the year as one of learning — for them and their students — and said some of their favorite parts have been watching their students grow throughout the year. All of the teachers were teaching younger grades, so many of the lessons taught to students included learning reading skills and math.

Wolfe thanked the teachers for their hard work during their first year, picking out specific moments that came to mind when he thought of or interacted with each one — praising them for things such as creativity, versatility and reliability.

“Those are all traits of teachers that are super valuable, so I just wanted to thank all of you for coming to the meeting tonight and sharing,” Wolfe said.

In other news:

¯ The board heard a presentation from the Student Government president on the past year. This included activities that the president did throughout the year and elections for next year.

¯ The board officially accepted the results of the 2023-24 budget vote and election.

¯ There will be a public hearing June 21 on the school safety plan.

¯ The board approved the appointments of fall and winter sports coaches.