No word on superintendent replacement at Leechburg Area; board members criticized for 'bullying'

There’s still no word from Leechburg Area School District officials on when or who will replace Superintendent Tiffany Nix.

Nix, who announced this month that she’s resigning to become an assistant superintendent at Penn-Trafford School District, said Thursday she is not aware of the school board’s plan to select a replacement.

No updates or action regarding how Nix will be replaced were discussed during the board’s meeting Wednesday.

Nix said she has no idea what the board will do next regarding her replacement. She said she doesn’t know when her last day at Leechburg Area will be, but her contract stipulates the district can make her stay for 75 days following her resignation.

Board Vice President Andrew Pallus said in an email Thursday he couldn’t comment about the superintendent issue.

“This is a personnel item, which is an executive session content,” Pallus said.

School board President Ashley Coudriet and fellow school directors James Dunmire, Melanie Knight, Darius Lovelace, Tom Maxin, Anthony Townsend and Joseph Lepish did not respond to email requests for comment Thursday morning.

Wednesday’s meeting, which lasted more than three hours and was moved to the high school auditorium to accommodate a crowd of more than 50 people, saw residents complain about a lack of transparency and even bullying on the part of board members.

“We have an amazing staff here, but what I see happening is that they’re being run out of this district,” said resident and former board member Danielle Reinke. “We’re going to lose some very amazing people at the expense of our kids, and why do I see this? A lot of you talked about transparency when you ran, but Facebook tells another story.”

Reinke was referring to a private Facebook group, “The Leechburg Beat,” and posts that have circulated since news of Nix’s resignation and the replacement of the district’s solicitor were made public.

“I have screenshots of some of you (board members) ‘liking’ horrific messages some people said about (Nix),” Reinke said. “That’s not transparency at all. You’re also attacking a local businesswoman because she spoke out against you. That’s not transparency. In fact, that’s called bullying. Some of the biggest bullies are sitting right here in front of us.”

“I know this has been an issue, and I’ve seen it on social media here and there,” board President Ashley Coudriet said. “That was a decision that was made. The board wanted to go in a different direction. The solicitor wasn’t fired.”

“I regret to see her go,” Neill Brady, a resident and former board president, said of Nix’s departure. “I hope our next superintendent will work as hard as Nix. I feel Dr. Nix had no choice but to leave at this time due to the new board leadership.”

Brady referenced the board’s last evaluation of Nix in which three school directors voted against giving her a satisfactory rating.

“Voting ‘no’ on the satisfactory ratings were the first time I’ve seen that in 20 years on the board,” Brady said. “She’s leaving before she would be fired, or she might receive five or six unsatisfactory votes on her performance in this coming year.”

Brady praised Nix’s accomplishments. He noted that under Nix’s leadership and her administrative team, the district rose from the lower 15% of academic achievement to the top 30% of academic achievement in the state. David Leech Elementary School earned a National Blue Ribbon recognition during Nix’s tenure.

Reinke, a business owner in the district, told the board she feared retaliation from some board members for speaking out.

“I’m probably going to get attacked tomorrow — call the state, call whoever, that’s fine. I have a legal team prepared,” Reinke said. “You’re opening up a door for tragedy and a lot of games that shouldn’t be played with our kids. Nix made this school the safest it’s ever been, and you pushed her out.”

Other residents asked the public to give the new board a chance to work through its problems.

“This school board has not had a chance to breathe,” said West Leechburg resident Janie Borsch. “These disgruntled people are breathing down their necks with all the terrible Facebook posts and news articles. It seems to me that this is a witch hunt. Give this new school board a chance.”

Pallus said he recognized the division on the board.

“Yes, this board is divided, which is extremely unfortunate. I believe that each board member has their way of reaching the end goal, which is in the best interests of the students,” Pallus said. “We’re all clashing with each other on which path we should take. We need to put all of our differences aside and begin to work on the same path and do what’s best for our students.”

Pallus had a request for the community.

“I ask everyone to just give the new board a chance to do what is right and transparent. We cannot just make everything transparent overnight, but rather over time. It takes time,” he said. “Change is never easy. Be patient, be open-minded, learn the facts and talk to us.”