Former Leechburg Area School Board member to return as district's new business manager

Leechburg Area School District officials have hired a familiar face as the new business manager.

Teresa Edinger, a 1987 graduate and former school board member, was unanimously approved as the top financial administrator on Dec. 8.

Edinger lives in the borough. She earned an associate’s degree in computerized accounting from the Monroeville School of Business in 1988 and has served in several administrative roles in the public and private sector since then.

“I just love the district,” Edinger said. “My heart is here. Everybody knows everybody, and everybody tries to help each other and comes together as a community. I grew up here, and I never left.”

Edinger was appointed to the school board in January and served through November. She did not run in this year’s election to keep her seat.

“I think she’ll be excellent,” school board president Neill Brady said. “From being on the school board, she knows what needs to be done. She has experience in Leechburg and she has experience in Kiski Area School District, which is a larger school.”

Edinger’s work experience in the Leechburg schools dates to January 2010, when she became the business office manager. In August 2016, she moved to Kiski Area to serve as assistant business manager and payroll specialist.

Edinger, 52, said she has let Kiski officials know about her impending return to her alma mater.

“I’m going to miss everybody there,” she said. “I learned a lot. My plan was to come here and retire from the district. I still have about 12 to 13 years to go.”

Superintendent Tiffany Nix said Edinger was selected out of 10 candidates.

“I’m really excited,” Nix said about the hire. “I have known Teresa as a professional and then as a board member for six years. She is a capable and diligent person. I am quite confident in her abilities to take over our business office. I have the utmost respect for her, and I am very much looking forward to leading this district with her by my side.”

The district had been searching for a new business manager since April, when it named Dale Kirsch its interim manager.

Kirsch served as Indiana Area School District superintendent for nearly 10 years and was its business manager for more than three years before that.

He took over for Deana Turner, who left to become Apollo-Ridge School District’s business administrator/board secretary.

Turner was hired in September 2020 after the departure of Bradley Walker. Walker worked in the district for four years.

Kirsch plans to stick around and help with Edinger’s transition. She is expected to get to work sometime in January.

However, an official start date has not been announced. Her starting salary is $85,000.

“We’ve had a lot of business managers and a lot of turnover in that position,” board vice president Anthony Shea said. “We’re just looking for Teresa to give us that consistency over the long run.”

Shea also spoke highly of Edinger’s experience both in the district and elsewhere.