New North Allegheny hire to join line of superintendents stretching to 1948

In the North Allegheny School District’s 75-year history, it’s had nine superintendents and at least two acting superintendents, or about one every seven years — better than average, according to numbers from an official of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.

“The average term of a PA superintendent is 3.73 years over the last 10-year period. This was a point-in-time data as of December 2022,” said Sherri L. Smith, association executive director.

Since 2002, North Allegheny has had six educators filling the post either as full-time superintendents or as fill-ins while the board searched for a full-time superintendent. The district is due to have its seventh superintendent since 2002 once a successor is selected for Dr. Melissa Friez, who announced her resignation in May.

Dr. Patricia Green served as NA superintendent from 2002 to 2011. She moved to Michigan to take a position as superintendent with Ann Arbor Public Schools from July 2011 to July 2013, according to Andrew Cluley, director of communications for Ann Arbor schools. She left for retirement, according to an April 2013, letter she sent to that district’s school board.

Dr. Raymond Gualtieri served as NA superintendent from 2011 to 2016.

Dr. Robert Scherrer became superintendent in 2016 after starting at NA in 2013 as assistant superintendent. In 2020, he took a position at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, where he continues as its executive director. The AIU is a public education agency that supports Allegheny County’s suburban school districts, including North Allegheny, as well as non-public, charter and vocational-technical schools.

Dr. Patrick O’Toole served as an acting superintendent from 2020 to 2021.

Dr. Melissa Friez was named superintendent in 2021. She served for two years until June 2. Mt. Lebanon School District announced she will begin as superintendent July 1.

Dr. Lawrence Butterini, a retired North Allegheny Senior High School principal, is serving as NA’s substitute superintendent until a full-time replacement is hired.

If retired, acting superintendents are not allowed to work more than one year, per rules of the Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement system, said NASD School Board President Libby Blackburn.

A superintendent search at North Allegheny is underway, utilizing feedback from community focus groups and BR2, a search firm based in Canonsburg and New Castle, according to Blackburn. Finalist candidate interviews are expected in mid-June, according to an online timeline on the North Allegheny website.

Selection of superintendent is planned for late June with a new superintendent set to begin on or before Sept. 1, or per negotiations set.

As far as money goes, the average salary of a superintendent in Pennsylvania was $150,528 in 2020-2021, according to the most recent data available from Pennsylvania School Board Association Research.

The PASA reported school superintendent salaries for that year for neighboring districts at: Pine-Richland, $183,000; Fox Chapel Area, $200,000; Mt. Lebanon, $231,088; North Hills, $174,760; Quaker Valley, $173,544. North Allegheny was not listed by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators because NA had an acting superintendent that year.

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

Prior to 2002, five educators have served as superintendent of the North Allegheny School District, according to the district’s communications department. They are:

Dr. Thomas E. Carson, 1948 - 1965

Dr. Carl A. Newman, 1966 - 1981

Dr. Michael Elsberry, 1981 - 1983

Dr. Lawrence Bozzomo, 1984 - 1999

Dr. Dennis Barrett, 1999 - 2002.