Former North Allegheny Senior High School principal to sub as superintendent as search goes on to fill the post

Retired North Allegheny Senior High School Principal Dr. Lawrence Butterini has been named substitute NA superintendent to replace Dr. Melissa Friez, who announced suddenly this month she was going to the Mt. Lebanon School District as superintendent.

In her May 1 announcement, Friez said she gave the NA board a 120-day notice. The NA school board, though, has allowed her to leave early.

“Her heart and mind are apparently in Mt. Lebanon. That just does not make sense to me. I would not want a person going elsewhere to make decisions for my district,” school board President Libby Blackburn said at the board’s May 10 meeting.

School board Director Elizabeth Warner expressed frustration that her school board colleagues decided to part ways with Friez early, calling the move “an error” and leaving the district “leaderless.”

Butterini, of Marshall, will serve as substitute superintendent to be paid a per diem rate of $760 per day. As of June 3, he will become acting superintendent to serve no more than a year or until a new superintendent is named. He was at North Allegheny High School for 20 years.

The school board has hired a local firm, BR2, to conduct a superintendent search.

Friez, who has been superintendent at NA since 2021, did not attend the May 10 meeting.

In her resignation announcement, Friez said she provided a 120-day resignation notice, offering to stay on while the superintendent search was being conducted.

Blackburn said the board could have held Friez for 120 days, but that wouldn’t make sense.

“It was in the best interest of our district to find someone to lead NA, and that is Dr. Larry Butterini. The Board felt he was best suited to lead our district, not someone who was invested in a competitor district,” Blackburn said.

Warner also thanked Butterini for stepping up.

School board Vice President Marcie Crow said she did the math and felt that the board had to make an important decision to move the “district in a strong positive direction.”

“The summer is an excellent time to get things moving. It’s time to regroup and reset,” she said.

School board Director Vidya Symkowiak said Butterini already is connected to the district. “His heart is at North Allegheny and not elsewhere,” Symkowiak said.

Friez’s salary at Mt. Lebanon will be $250,000, according to Mt. Lebanon School District spokeswoman. Friez’s earned $188,700 as superintendent at North Allegheny.

Blackburn said there will be focus groups created for the superintendent search and encouraged community members to be involved.

NA has posted the superintendent’s position on its website, with a closing date for applications on June 1. The search timeline states the school board will select finalists to interview in early June, and finalist interviews with the school board will be in mid-June. Selection of new superintendent is expected late June with a start date on or before Sept. 1, or as negotiated.