Dennis Fleck, Principal | dfleck@ftpchs.org

I am privileged to be the Founding Principal of FTPCHS.  This will be my 48th year in education.  After working in my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky I moved to Wilmington where I worked at Hoggard and Ashley High schools from 1981 to 2011.  During this time I served as a teacher, coach, athletic director, assistant principal, and for a short tenure as interim principal of Ashley HS.  As an original staff member of Ashley HS,  I was part of the team that started the new high school.  Those experiences have helped to prepare me to lay the foundation for our new Fr. Thomas Price Catholic High School.  In 2011 I moved to St. Mark Catholic School where I served as an assistant principal, athletic director, and principal.  I retired from St. Mark in July of 2022.  I personally attended catholic schools in Louisville from Grades 1-12.  My wife and I have four children, including a set of twins.   We have one grandson and are going to be grandparents to a new set of twins in the spring.  

Megan Gavrillen, English | mgavrillen@ftpchs.org

Megan Gavrillen knew from a young age that she was called to become an educator.  A North Carolina Teaching Fellow, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and began her teaching career in 2002 with the Providence School Department in Rhode Island.  While raising her two young daughters, Mrs. Gavrillen served as the Director of Religious Education at St. Therese Catholic Church and earned her Master Level Catechist Certification through the Diocese of Raleigh in partnership with the University of Notre Dame's McGrath Institute for Church Life. She later earned a Master of Education in Global Perspectives: Teaching, Curriculum, and Learning Environments from Boston College and completed her K–12 English as a Second Language certification through the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  Mrs. Gavrillen is licensed in North Carolina to teach English (9–12), English Language Arts (6–8), and English as a Second Language (K–12). She and her husband, a United States Marine Corps veteran, are St. Mary parishioners and have been married for 24 years. They are the proud parents of two talented daughters, both dedicated ballerinas.  Megan believes that teaching is a sacred, beautiful vocation, and she is grateful for the gift of being an educator. 

Omeed Huemiller, Theology and Latin | ohuemiller@ftpchs.org

Omeed Huemiller was born in Abu Dhabi, but  grew up in the little town of Chinquapin, NC. He is the second of six children.  After graduating from high school, he went straight into the seminary, where he earned his  bachelor's degree in Philosophy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. He continued his studies at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. However, after several years there, he  discerned away from this vocation. After a total of eight and a half years in formation, he left to become a teacher here at the Basilica and at the High School. 

Christy Korengay, Math 1 | ckornegay@ftpchs.org

Christy Korengay was born in Duplin County NC where she attended Kenansville Elementary, EE Smith Junior High, and James Kenan High School.  She started taking dance classes at the age of three and continued through college . . .  She even twirled the baton.  Though she doesn’t play anymore, tennis was her sport of choice. She also took piano lessons for six years, but sadly, admits that she does not have much to show for those lessons these days.  After  graduating from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, she earned a NC teaching certificate for grades six through twelve.  In 2005, she became a National Board Certified Teacher.  She taught for two years in Sampson County and one year in Duplin County before moving to Wilmington where she  taught for twenty-six years.  In 2023,she retired from the NC public school system.  Since then, she’s been teaching at St. Mary Catholic School and has never been happier.  In her spare time,she  enjoys spending time with family and friends, spending time on Topsail Island, reading, watching movies, listening to music, going to the theater and yes, she still loves to dance.  She is excited and honored to be a part of FTPCHS’s inaugural year and I look forward to teaching the freshman class.      

Jim Murtagh, Biology | jmurtagh@ftpchs.org

Jim Murtagh, the youngest of five children, was born in Cleveland, Ohio. The family moved to Manhasset, New York, and he attended first and second grade at Saint Mary School in Manhasset. After moving back to the Cleveland area, he completed grade school at St. Gregory the Great School, and graduated from St. Ignatius High School. For college, Jim opted to go to McGill University in Montreal (cheaper than Ohio State) and graduated with a degree in Biochemistry. He worked as a lab technician for three years at Case Western Reserve University and met and married his wife Beverly. They have three children. The first two were born while Jim obtained his PhD in Chemistry at Brown University. After a post doctoral fellowship at the University of Notre Dame, Jim started his career in the Pharmaceutical industry, and retired in 2020. He has been a resident of Wilmington and a parishioner  at the Basilica of Saint Mary since 2005.

Paul Price, World History | pprice@ftpchs.org

Paul Price is an educator with more than 33 years of teaching and administrative experience. Certified in Social Studies, Mathematics, French, and School Administration, he retired from North Carolina’s public school system in 2020 after serving as principal of three schools in Brunswick County. Throughout his career, he has taught grades K–12. Since 2021, Paul has taught at St. Mary Catholic School in Wilmington, serving as an 8th-grade homeroom teacher and middle school social studies instructor. A convert to Catholicism, he was received into the Church in 1992 under the guidance of Fr. Al Dash at the UNCW Campus Catholic Ministry. Originally from Lenoir, North Carolina, Paul attended Appalachian State University and earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees (MSA) from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He considers it a profound privilege to teach in a Catholic school and to serve on the founding faculty of Father Thomas Price High School. 

Averee Coley, Health & Physical Education | acoley@ftpchs.org

Averee was raised in Wilmington, North Carolina, where she attended Myrtle Grove Middle School and graduated from Eugene Ashley High School in 2018. A multi-sport athlete growing up, she found her passion in lacrosse and continued her playing career at Longwood University before earning a Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in Physiology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Coach Coley has been coaching athletes of all ages since 2015 and joined the New Hanover High School women's lacrosse program in 2023. She has been recognized as Coach of the Year in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Now entering her third year at St. Mary Catholic School as the Physical Education teacher and Athletic Director, Coach Coley is passionate about helping students grow both mentally and physically. She strives to build confident and respectful young leaders by emphasizing hard work, resilience, teamwork and integrity. Her goal is for every student to leave her class stronger and equipped with habits that will help them succeed both in athletics and in life. Whether coaching on the field or teaching in the classroom, Coach Coley emphasizes that character is built through adversity. She encourages students to step outside of their comfort zones, support one another and never settle for mediocrity. Her hope is that every student develops a growth mindset, learns to lead by example and gains the confidence to overcome obstacles both in athletics and in life.

Sharon Batuyios, Counselor | sbatuyios@ftpchs.org

Sharon Batuyios is the licensed school counselor at Fr. Thomas Price Catholic High School and St. Mary Catholic School. With over 20 years of experience in education, Mrs. Batuyios has served as a classroom teacher and as a school counselor. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Counseling and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. She is a member of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and the North Carolina School Counselor Association (NCSCA). Mrs. Batuyios is passionate about Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and advocating for students. She focuses on creating supportive environments where students thrive emotionally, socially, spiritually, and academically.   She enjoys surfing at the beach with her family. She also enjoys music, animals, reading, and spending time in nature.