New Kensington-Arnold considering how to find a new superintendent

New Kensington-Arnold School Board is meeting with consultants as it considers how to go about finding a new superintendent.

The district’s most recent superintendent, John Pallone, resigned at the end of July. Jon Banko, previously assistant superintendent, has been serving as the district’s acting superintendent since late August.

In a virtual meeting Thursday, the board heard from representatives of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and Ray and Associates, an Iowa-based firm that specializes in school executive leadership searches.

PSBA spokeswoman Annette Stevenson said the association has been providing human resources services to school boards for 25 years.

“We are happy to work with the district in this capacity and feel we are the best-suited partner for myriad reasons, not least of which is our statewide and beyond reach, offering a broad pool of qualified candidates,” she said.

A representative of Ray and Associates could not be reached Friday.

School board President John Cope said the board expects to hear from a third search consultant before making a decision.

“A good superintendent is a bonus both for the school, the students and the staff. When you have a thriving school system, you have a thriving community,” Cope said. “I don’t think it’s any surprise we could use the help.”

Cope said it would be “an example of misplaced hubris” to think the school board could the find the best candidate itself.

“I am very cognizant of the cost,” he said. “But that old adage, ‘You get what you pay for,’ holds true in almost every aspect. I think we’re going to be prudent in how we spend our money for anything. We’ve got to realize a superintendent is the face of the school district.”

Board member Bob Pallone was not able to participate in the meeting. He said the district needs to retain a responsible consultant, and prefers a local one that knows the area.

“I think we need to do the right thing for the community, the district and the kids,” he said. “And whoever is going to be able to give us the best result, we need to hire.”

Bob Pallone said the district needs strong leadership with a superintendent “that has strong management of the budget and the contracts and the personnel and a vision for education. I think the education will take care of itself if we manage the personnel in a strong manner.”

While Cope said he expects the board to decide on a search service in January or February, Bob Pallone said the district should decide on a consultant in early December and be interviewing candidates by then, with an eye toward finalizing the process in March and having a new superintendent in place by the start of the next school year.

“I’m hoping we’re going to get this process moving,” Bob Pallone said. “We have to get an offer into somebody’s hands by early February to get done by the end of the school year.”

With the district’s schools now closed because of a spike in covid-19 cases, Cope said the board and administration are currently busy dealing with those issues.

“Our focus is on more immediate needs than total attention to the superintendents search,” Cope said.