Plum School Board voted on Tuesday, Aug. 12 to hire two new principals about a week before the first day of school.

Colleen Pegher joins the district as assistant principal at Plum High School, and Rachel Lintelman takes over as assistant principal at Plum Middle School.

Pegher previously served 11 years in Pittsburgh Public Schools as an English and special education teacher. Most recently, she served as acting assistant principal at Oliver Citywide Academy.

She holds an undergraduate degree in English from Allegheny College and a master’s in education from the University of Pittsburgh.

At the Aug. 12 school board meeting, Pegher said she was excited to be a Mustang and would work to produce “resilient, responsible and engaged” Plum graduates.

“Being chosen for this role is both humbling and energizing, and I couldn’t be more excited to be part of such a proud and supportive community,” she said.

Lintelman, who grew up in Penn Hills, comes to the district from Elizabeth Forward Middle School, where she served as a science teacher.

The two new principals share alma maters and both hold school principal certificates from Point Park University.

In addition to the certificate, Lintelman has an undergraduate degree in biology from Allegheny College and a master’s in biological sciences from the University of Pittsburgh.

She said her husband is a Plum native, and the district already felt like home to her family.

“I know first hand how special this community is, and I’m grateful to be able to serve the students, families and staff that make it that way,” Lintelman said.

Pegher will receive a yearly salary of $105,000, while Lintelman will be paid $93,000 a year.

The two new hires fill roles left vacant after the board promoted Stephan Sereda and Ashley DeVito last month to head principals at Plum High School and Holiday Park Intermediate School, respectively.

School Board President Angela Anderson said at the Aug. 12 meeting that she looks forward to Pegher and Lintelman joining the district.

“I’m excited for you to get to be with our students next week, and I appreciate all the work you’ve already done so far,” Anderson said.

In addition to the two new principals, the board also hired a counselor at Plum High School as well as several food service workers, bus aides and paraprofessionals.

The first day of school in Plum is set for Aug. 20.

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