Yough's Sardon going home to lead West Jefferson Hills School District

Yough School District is searching for a new superintendent to replace the district’s top administrator.

Janet Sardon is returning home to lead the West Jefferson Hills School District, where she graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School.

Sardon, 50, who has served as Yough’s superintendent since September 2011, will assume her new role on Aug. 8 under terms of a five-year contract that will pay her $180,000 in the first year.

She was hired June 8 by a unanimous vote of the West Jefferson Hills school board to replace Michael Ghilani.

“It is a great opportunity,” Sardon said of her new position.

Sardon will remain as Yough superintendent until Aug. 5.

“She did a great job. She was very dedicated to the community and served on many board. She will be missed,” said Jared Filapose, board president.

Yough is accepting applications until Friday for its next superintendent, who will be responsible for overseeing the education of about 2,200 students.

Filapose said he expects the board will conduct rounds of interviews next month and hopes to have a superintendent selected in August. If one is not chosen by the time school starts, it is likely that James Meyer, Yough’s business manager, would serve as acting superintendent, Filapose said.

Sardon’s time at Yough, which includes steering the district through the covid-related shutdowns, was not without its challenges.

Sardon was in danger of losing her job when her contract expired in June 2021. The school board voted 5-3 in December 2020 not to renew her contract. Filapose, along with current directors Steven Kenderes, Nancy McClaren and Allen Novacek, were joined by Gregg Nogy in declaring that her position would be open. That decision came a month after the state Department of Education prohibited the board from granting her just a one-year extension.

In response to the board’s vote, numerous letters supporting Sardon, as well as a petition signed by several hundred people, were submitted to the board in January 2021.

Filapose said the board and Sardon had some differences, which were resolved and the board voted unanimously in March 2021 to grant her a new four-year contract, which was to expire in 2025. She received a salary of $155,000 this school year. She said she accepted a pay cut from the $164,266 she received in the 2020-2021 school year to save te district money.

When Sardon’s resignation was accepted at the board’s June 14 meeting, she thanked the community for its support.

“During the last 12 years, I’ve been very blessed to work with many, many great people, including members of the board” and those who previously served on it.

Kevin Smetak, Yough Intermediate Middle School principal, praised Sardon’s leadership and her work with fellow administrators.

Sardon received the University of Pittsburgh’s Distinguished Pre K-12 Educator Award in 2021. She is chair of the Westmoreland County Health Consortium and is a member of the board of the Pennsylvania Association of Small and Rural Schools. She received the Dr. Jean Winsand Distinguished Women in Education Award in 2018.

Sardon came to Yough after serving as West Mifflin’s school superintendent for almost two years. She had been an assistant superintendent for about two years.

Sardon began her career as a special education teacher in the South Allegheny School District, where she also served as the district’s middle school and high school principal.

Kimberly Finnerty, West Jefferson Hills school board president, said the board believes Sardon has the characteristics and varied experiences that will enable her to be a strong, progressive leader for the students, staff and community.

“She has a tremendous breadth of knowledge about our district and is aware of our short- and long-term achievements and challenges,” Finnerty said.