Families at Carwise Middle School in Palm Harbor will meet a new principal when classes resume Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Karen Huzar, who spent more than a decade leading East Lake Middle School Academy of Engineering, is taking over at Carwise after the Pinellas County School Board approved her transfer on May 19. She replaces Chad Eiben, who retired.

Palm Harbor University High School and Dunedin High School, the two largest high schools serving the area, are not among the 15 Pinellas campuses with new principals this fall. Teresa L. Patterson returns to lead PHUHS and its roughly 2,400 students, while James Kiblinger continues at Dunedin High, according to district records.

A 25-year district veteran

Huzar has worked in Pinellas County Schools since 2001. She started at Largo Middle School in dropout prevention, moved into the science classroom, then became an assistant principal at Dunedin Highlands Middle in 2007, where she helped open the school's gifted center. She moved to East Lake Middle in 2014 and built out its engineering-focused programs.

On Carwise Middle's website, Huzar said she is honored and excited to serve as the school's new principal. She is a former United States Coast Guard member and a mother of three.

Other local changes

East Lake Middle School, which also draws students from the Palm Harbor and East Lake corridor, will have its own new leader: JoAnna Bernal, previously assistant principal at Dunedin Highlands Middle, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Michael Vasallo, named principal at Northeast High School, has local ties as well. He served as principal of Dunedin Highlands Middle from 2017 to 2022 before moving to Gibbs High as an assistant principal, the Times reported in May.

What's ahead

The district earned its third straight "A" grade from the Florida Department of Education heading into the new year. A separate issue on the district's fall agenda: school consolidation and closure recommendations are expected to come before the board before Labor Day, according to Fox 13, following community meetings held in July.

The first day of school for all Pinellas County students is Tuesday, Aug. 11. Carwise Middle School is located at 3301 Bentley Dr., Palm Harbor. The school's front office can be reached at (727) 724-1442.