Ken Branch is retiring as principal of Brentwood Elementary School in North Raleigh just a few months after being named the Wake County School System's 2012 Principal of the Year.
Tonight, the school board appointed Teresa Abron, a retired principal, to be Brentwood's interim principal starting Dec. 3 and running through May 31. Board members said they were surprised by Branch's retirement.
In other principal appointments:
* Pamela Johnson was named principal of Carnage Middle School in Southeast Raleigh with a salary of $97,196. Johnson, currently an assistant principal at Reedy Creek Middle School in Cary, was the principal at Brentwood before Branch.
* Kathy Knezevic was named principal of Washington Elementary School near downtown Raleigh with a salary of $79,302. She's been an assistant principal at Mills Park Elementary School in Cary since 2009.
* Elaine Hanzer was named interim principal of Phillips High School, an alternative school in East Raleigh.
* Craig Matthews' tenure as interim principal at Leesville Road Middle School in North Raleigh was extended to Dec. 21.
UPDATE
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