Transfer of principal to teacher one of several Highlands personnel moves

Personnel moves approved Monday by Highlands School Board included transferring one principal to teacher, accepting the school board secretary’s resignation and signing off on a statement of charges against an unidentified employee.

The board did not comment on any of the actions before approving them in a single motion.

Samantha Perlik was transferred from principal of the district’s Early Childhood Center to elementary teacher. No reason or explanation was given.

Perlik did not respond to a request for comment.

Highlands spokeswoman Jennifer Goldberg did not say why Perlik had been transferred or who will replace her as principal.

Perlik was named principal of the center, which houses pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students in Brackenridge, in November. She previously served as principal of Highlands Elementary in Tarentum. Stan Whiteman replaced Perlik as principal of the elementary school in January.

The board approved the resignation of Michele Bloch as board secretary effective immediately. Business Manager Lori Byron was appointed to complete Bloch’s four-year term. She will be paid an annual $10,000 stipend.

Byron’s salary in the 2018-19 school year was $113,000, according to the state Department of Education. She was given a $3,000 performance bonus in September 2019.

The employee facing the statement of charges was identified only as “#4277” on a meeting agenda. Statements of charges are formal notices issued by school officials detailing proposed reasons for firing an employee.

Nothing was said about the employment status of the individual.

In 2019, the district took similar actions against unidentified employees at least three times, including placing them on unpaid leave and approving statements of charges against them. While the state’s Office of Open Records has twice sided with the Tribune-Review’s position that the state’s Sunshine Act requires the district to identify the employees, the district is challenging that in court.

Board member Debbie Beale abstained from the votes on Perlik’s transfer and the statement of charges. She did not explain her abstentions and could not be reached for comment after the meeting.

Other personnel actions

• The board approved a one-time $5,000 stipend for Michael Losk, the district’s technology director, for work performed during the 2019-20 school year.

In saying she was happy to recommend the stipend, Beale said the district could not have made it through the summer without his diligence.

• The board accepted the resignations of two employees — Amanda Ewing, paraprofessional-learning support aide at the Early Childhood Center, effective Aug. 21; and Roger Parker, paraprofessional at Highlands High School, effective Sept. 18.

• The board rescinded the hiring of four employees — building substitutes Bobbi Hammill and Kevin Woods at the high school and Adam Robison at the middle school; and Janel Moriarty, substitute speech and language pathologist.

• The board hired Stacy Mylin as a day-to-day speech and language pathologist substitute from Aug. 24 through Oct. 26 at a daily rate of $110.

• Becca Lasko was hired as a building substitute at the middle school for the 2020-21 school year at a $22,500 annual salary effective Sept. 17.

• The board approved an agreement with Kelly Education Services for substitute teachers and other educational staffing for the 2020-21 school year.

According to the agreement, substitute teachers are paid $110 per day, for which the district is billed $152.90. School nurses and certified nursing assistants are paid $15 per hour, for which the district is billed $22.50 per hour; and paraprofessionals are paid $7.25 per hour, for which the district is billed $10.15 per hour.