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Superintendent sought in West Jefferson Hills
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A superintendent search has started in the West Jefferson Hills School District, a search conducted by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.
The hope is that the position will be posted by Sept. 1, school board President Anthony Angotti said Tuesday after a work session.
The latest the post will be filled is July of next year, he said.
In the meantime, a decision on an acting superintendent will have to be made by the board sometime in the next month.
On Sept. 29 of last year, Hamsini Rajgopal was named the district's new acting superintendent for a period not to exceed one year.
The state school code caps the length of time a person may serve as acting superintendent at one year. And, the same person cannot serve in the position more than once.
At the time of Mrs. Rajgopal's appointment, district Solicitor Ira Weiss said while the district could appoint a permanent superintendent, there was an element of risk in doing so until the lawsuits filed by fired Superintendent Terry Kinavey were resolved.
Mrs. Kinavey was fired by the board in September of 2010, after a termination hearing. She was accused of improperly intervening in the hiring of a teacher and not being forthcoming about her actions.
On Tuesday, Lisa M. Colautti, an associate with The Law Offices of Ira Weiss, said while the litigation has not been resolved, the final year of Mrs. Kinavey's contract has been entered and she was given the required notice that it will not be renewed.
Her five-year contract expires in June 2013.
When Mrs. Rajgopal was appointed acting superintendent, she was the district's director of human resources, a post she held for the previous four years. She has filled the dual roles for the past 11 months, and will continue as director of human resources after Sept. 29.
For its work in the application process, the AIU will be paid $2,000 by the district.
The decision on who to hire as superintendent will rest with the board.
As for the contract terms, that could be largely out of the board's hands.
"The new provisions of the state school code will likely dictate many of the terms of the contract of the new superintendent," Ms. Colautti said.
Those provisions become effective this fall.
First Published August 23, 2012 5:19 am
