North Allegheny school board candidates differ on superintendent search process

The search is underway for a new superintendent for the North Allegheny School District, however differences have emerged among school board candidates whether a new superintendent should be hired prior to the school year beginning in August or after a new school board is elected in November.

Terms for the new school board directors would begin in December. And the five newly elected school directors would constitute a majority of the nine-member school board.

Former North Allegheny Senior High School Principal Dr. Lawrence Butterini is serving as acting/substitute superintendent following Dr. Melissa Friez’s resignation in May. Local firm BR2 is acting as a search consultant.

Current NA School Board President Libby Blackburn, who’s running for re-election, said it’s important to elect a new superintendent prior to the start of the school year. She reasons this is most likely why Friez had a July 1 start date for her new job as superintendent of the Mt. Lebanon School District.

“If we are able to find a great superintendent by July 1, that is best for the students of North Allegheny,” she said. “This is because you want to have your superintendent in place to start the school year. While most superintendent contracts have a 60-day hold, I would suspect a district would let their superintendent leave quickly. This search is about what is best for the students. It would be almost impossible to not find a superintendent long before the November election,” said Blackburn.

The school board candidates’ group, Together for NA, which includes incumbent Elizabeth Warner and candidates Sylvana Bonner, Bob Gibbs, Jaime Martinez and Anisha Shah has a different perspective.

“The turnover of multiple superintendents and almost every other district-level administrator is a huge challenge for our schools and a waste of our community’s tax dollars. The instability created by staff turnover is a top-of-mind issue to many voters. The high levels of turnover and instability impact the quality of our schools and will, over time, negatively affect the value of our homes. Whomever is selected and whenever that selection occurs, it is critical that the new school board hire and retain effective leaders, which, unfortunately for our community, the current board majority has failed to do,” they said.

They will be opposed in the November General Election by: incumbents Blackburn, Mike Weniger and Marcie Crow; and challengers Kate Matz and Janet Redwing Sidor.

Blackburn added that her findings show North Allegheny superintendents have stayed longer than the average Pennsylvania superintendent, who moves on after 3.2 years, according to Blackburn.

Applicants interested in the position must submit the required information and documents by June 1, according to the NA job posting on its website.

North Allegheny focus groups, made up of district personnel, parents, student representatives and residents, met throughout May to add input.

Candidates will be selected for first-round interviews that are scheduled to begin early this month. Second-round and final interviews will be conducted through June.

Current school board Vice President Marcie Crow agrees with Blackburn that a superintendent should be hired before the 2023-24 school year.

“I didn’t even think twice about it. One of the most important responsibilities of the Board is to select the district’s superintendent. As soon as we learned about Dr. Friez’s resignation, we knew we needed to get started with our search,” she said.

“Dr. Butterini is a wonderful substitute, but we need continuity. It’s simple—this decision isn’t political; it’s about education and what is best for NA,” she said.

Together for NA maintains that the school board and new superintendent must work together to rebuild trust and bring much-needed stability to the community,

North Allegheny needs a qualified superintendent regardless of the timing of school board elections, and the Together for NA slate said it is running to bring the thoughtful, inclusive, and stable leadership that the community deserves.

School board Director Dr. Vidya Szymkowiak said it’s a board priority to identify a qualified and experienced candidate for superintendent. She said it was best for students, staff and the NA community for the board to immediately advertise the position after Friez’s resignation.

”In the meantime, the board is confident that North Allegheny is in the capable hands of our Interim Superintendent, Dr. Lawrence Butterini and the senior leadership team,” Szymkowiak said.

“It absolutely makes sense to hire a superintendent as soon as possible, assuming we find the right person to lead our District,” said Weniger. “This is the perfect time to conduct a superintendent search because the summer is the easiest transition period for anyone to join our team and is also the time when many people look for new jobs.”