Hempfield Area School Board approves temporary superintendent who will hold the reins until January

The Hempfield Area School District will have a temporary top official for the next two months while Superintendent Tammy Wolicki takes a leave of absence.

Kimberlie Rieffannacht, assistant superintendent for elementary education, will fill the superintendent’s role until Wolicki’s scheduled return on Jan. 5.

The board made the move 7-0 on Wednesday, with two members absent.

On Tuesday, Bob Reger, the district’s director of human resources, said Wolicki is taking a leave of absence and is not leaving the district.

Wolicki could not be reached for comment. She was appointed as Hempfield’s superintendent in 2017. Her contract was renewed in 2021 and runs through June 2027.

Rieffannacht, who joined the district in October 2020, starts her new role today Thursday. She will receive an additional $100 stipend per day.

She started her career as a high school math teacher, and has served in leadership and administration roles at Huntingdon Area School District and State College Area School District. She also has taught classes as an adjunct professor at Wilkes University and Wilson College.

Rieffannacht said she was approached about the temporary role last Friday by school board President Paul Ward.

“I am honored to be serving in this role for this period of time, and I am honored to serve our community,” she said.

“We’re a marking period into the school year, and focusing on our kids, our programming, and those things that need attention,” she said. “The building project is something that we’re working with our owner’s rep, that was approved, and having those meetings and getting up to speed on some of those pieces and making sure that we are moving in the right direction.”

Rieffannacht will meet the new board as it stands after next week’s election. Nine candidates are running for five open seats, and only four of the five incumbents are running again, meaning that at least one board seat is guaranteed to be a new face.

“Tuesday will be telling,” she said. “We’ll see who the community puts into place, and we’ll welcome them, and get them on-boarded appropriately for the next term!”