photo by: Mike Yoder

Quail Run Elementary, 1130 Inverness Drive

The Lawrence school district has chosen a new principal for Quail Run Elementary, pending approval by the school board.

Interim Superintendent Anna Stubblefield announced on Monday the selection of Michael Koonce as Quail Run principal. The hiring will become effective July 1, if the board approves it.

Koonce would succeed Philip Thies, who has been principal since 2016. Thies resigned to pursue other professional opportunities.

Michael Koonce

Quail Run currently serves 450 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, according to a news release from the district.

Koonce has served as director of learning services for Greenbush, the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center (SEKESC), since 2010. He provides leadership and management for school improvement services for a consortium of 112 school districts by coordinating and facilitating professional development programming, according to the district’s news release.