PENNCREST tables vote on naming new school superintendent

Keith Gushard, The Meadville Tribune, Pa.
·3 min read

Oct. 3—CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS — PENNCREST School Board has voted to hold off action on naming a new superintendent of schools.

At a special meeting Monday night at Cambridge Springs High School, board members voted 8-1 to table a vote on appointing a new superintendent. Board President Luigi DeFrancesco was the lone vote against tabling the matter.

The meeting had been specially advertised to discuss and potentially act on appointing a new superintendent to replace Tim Glasspool.

Glasspool, who had been PENNCREST's superintendent since 2018, submitted his resignation to the board on Sept. 6. He submitted his resignation to PENNCREST one day after the Belle Vernon Area School District in Fayette County voted Sept. 5 to hire him.

While Glasspool left the district as of Friday, PENNCREST School Board has not formally voted to release him from his current contract. In February 2021, board members unanimously voted to reappoint Glasspool with a five-year contract running through June 2026.

Monday night's vote to table came after an hour or so of comment from the public. More than 150 people were on hand for the meeting with 18 members of the public who addressed the board.

All but one of those who spoke implored the board not to make a decision without having a more open process, a broader pool of candidates as well as aid in interviewing candidates from Intermediate Unit 5 or the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

PENNCREST had three candidates seeking the open position: Ken Newman, PENNCREST's assistant superintendent; Patti Fiely, PENNCREST's director of student services; and James Smith, who is principal of Belle Valley Elementary School in Millcreek Township School District in Erie County.

Prior to the vote to table, multiple members of the public questioned why the board had not openly advertised the position. Several also said the public had not any communication from PENNCREST on Glasspool's departure or that the board members had conducted interviews of the three candidates.

Several pointed out the board had used IU 5's assistance to vet potential candidates and conduct interviews of them in a process that took several months each time.

The school board wasn't being transparent if it took a vote on a candidate, according to those who spoke.

"It gives the appearance of self-serving corruption and a lack of transparency," Kevin Myers, a Cambridge Springs resident, told the board.

Matthew Defrances of Cambridge Springs said if a vote on a superintendent was taken "it would be a slap across the face of this community, whether people have children here or not."

Following the vote, DeFrancesco said he voted against tabling the matter because the board had conducted interviews and he was ready to vote.

"We had interviews — we did exactly what our solicitor told us to do," he said. "We followed the law."

While there are required standards for qualification as a school superintendent in Pennsylvania, there is no formal advertising requirement regarding a superintendent's position.

"No, the department doesn't set any requirements for job advertisements," Taj Magruder, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, said in an email to The Meadville Tribune on Monday.

"There is no formal requirement under the Pennsylvania School Code regarding advertising the position," said Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Assocation.

With the vote to table, PENNCREST is expected to discuss the superintendent situation and the board's next potential steps at its October work session at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at Cambridge Springs High School.

Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.