New Kensington-Arnold hires wife of acting superintendent as teacher

The same day Jon Banko was named acting superintendent of New Kensington-Arnold School District, his wife was hired as an elementary teacher in the district.

Banko conceded the hiring of his wife, Nicole Banko, could appear inappropriate to some. But he said he was not involved in her interview nor the discussion of her candidacy, and her hiring was recommended by an interview team consisting of three principals and the special education director.

Nicole Banko has been a substitute teacher at New Kensington-Arnold for five years, Jon Banko said. He said his wife has 19 years of teaching experience, having been an elementary teacher for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh until her school was closed.

“As far as I’m concerned, she’s earned her spot,” Jon Banko said. “She interviewed just like everybody else.”

The school board voted, 5-3, at its meeting Tuesday to hire Nicole Banko as a first-grade teacher at H.D. Berkey. Her starting salary is $46,773, according to the district.

Board members Bob Pallone, Tim Beckes and Chelsea Stone voted against her hire, while board member Eric Doutt was absent. They also voted against hiring Katie Dombroski as a second-grade teacher at H.D. Berkey at the same salary as Nicole Banko. Dombroski’s husband is a first-grade teacher at H.D. Berkey.

Pallone said he voted against the hires for specific reasons.

“I was very uncomfortable with the process that we used to identify the candidates,” he said. “We had 10 applicants that we never even looked at their resumes. We made no attempt whatsoever to reach out and try to make a diversity hire that could be a mentor or a role model for the population of children we have in the district, which is unacceptable.

“Nobody on the (school) board had any information on any of those recommended candidates,” he said. “They weren’t invited to the interviews, they were given no resumes to review, nothing, yet we were being asked to give somebody a lifetime job that we knew nothing about.”

Pallone said he believes the district does not need more teachers because it is overstaffed.

Board President John Cope, who voted in favor of the hires, said it’s not the board’s business to interview candidates.

“Do I think the board could have been better informed? Yeah, sure,” he said. “We have the final say who gets hired and who doesn’t. That’s policy; that’s not management.”

Despite saying he would have wanted more information, Cope said he supported the hires because he trusts the administrators.

“Right now, at this moment, I trust the administration. I trust the new acting superintendent. I have no reason not to,” Cope said.

Jon Banko said he participated in interviews other than his wife’s over a full day with elementary principals Nicole Bitar, Thomas Rocchi and Todd Kutchak and special education director Jennifer Pallone.

He said he was only an observer in the interviews he participated in, “providing information about the positions and how the district would move through the hiring process.”

Jon Banko said Katie Dombroski also has been a substitute teacher at New Kensington-Arnold and has classroom experience in other schools.

The district does not have a policy on nepotism, Jon Banko said.

“On the record, I would say the process leaves questions,” Pallone said. “I strongly recommended that we further clean up the process and vet the candidates. They decided they were doing it. They had the votes.”

Cope said there should be a policy on nepotism, but he doesn’t know if the district has one.

Jon Banko said he looked at nepotism policies in place at other school districts.

“Why not hire someone who’s good just because they have a family member that works in the district?” he said.

Jon Banko has been with New Kensington-Arnold for 13 years. He was high school principal before being named assistant superintendent under John Pallone. He was named acting superintendent following John Pallone’s resignation at the end of July.

“I want the schools to be better,” he said. “It matters to me not just professionally. I live here in this community. My son graduated from Valley, (and) my daughter is in 11th grade. I want the schools to be good. I want us to be better than we are.”

Jon Banko said he will apply for the superintendent job. Cope said the school board is getting started in deciding how it will go about finding a new permanent superintendent. He said Banko would be “more than welcome” to apply.