North Allegheny’s 1st police officers, new technology coordinator hired

The first officers for North Allegheny School District’s new police department were approved at the March 27 school board meeting, as was a coordinator of academic technology.

Four officers will begin in mid-April at Carson, Ingomar and Marshall middle schools, and at North Allegheny Intermediate High School.

An officer would be hired for each school building and the current school resource officers at the high schools would be replaced after the other school officer positions are filled, per an Oct. 18 school board meeting.

The starting hourly rate for new police officers at the district is $31, per the job description.

Brian Hoebel is a certified state municipal police officer, serving in Sharpsburg for 15 years, where he was the department’s juvenile investigations officer. He is a firefighter and a state-certified paramedic with experience in hospital and prehospital emergency response, according to a March 27 press release from the district.

Steve Liston was most recently a school police officer in Mars Area School District. He graduated from the Pennsylvania State Police Academy in 1998 and then worked for 10 years as a state trooper before working as a state police criminal investigator for four years. For the past 10 years, he was a member of the Fugitive Apprehension Unit and was assigned to the U.S. Marshal Service.

Eric Sipes is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Municipal Police Officer Training program, first working at the Castle Shannon Police Department before joining the state police in 1994, where he worked for 25 years. He was involved in the State Police Camp Cadet youth program and most recently served as a school police officer in Butler Area School District.

Greg Walton was most recently a Butler Area school police officer, for eight years. He spent 25 years as a Pennsylvania State Police trooper, with 14 years as a drug Investigator and vice officer, responsible for conducting complex investigations into drug offenses and drug organizations. He was deputized by the FBI and Drug Enforcement Agency for investigations in federal cases, and then promoted and spent six years as a patrol supervisor.

“The most important role of the school police officer is the safety and security of our students, staff and visitors at North Allegheny,” Eric Harpster, district police chief, said. “The second priority is to develop positive relationships in our schools and in our district.”

The school board on March 27 named Victoria Lojek as coordinator of academic technology, with a prorated annual salary of $108,000. She replaces Katherine Curran, who retired in January.

Lojek was director of digital teaching and learning at Elizabeth Forward School District since August 2022 and taught STEAM and technology literacy at South Fayette Intermediate School for six years. She has a bachelor’s degree in child development and education from Washington & Jefferson College and a master of science in education in instructional technology from Duquesne University. She received her K-12 principal certification through Point Park University in 2023, according to a press release from North Allegheny.

Jim Cox, NA director of technology and innovation, said Lojek will “lead our academic technology team to ensure our students and staff remain on the forefront of educational technology advancements.”