Belle Vernon hires former Plum superintendent despite concerns
The Belle Vernon Area School Board during a heated meeting Tuesday evening voted to hire a new superintendent despite pleas from the public to further vet the candidate.
Timothy Glasspool, who currently works as the superintendent at Penncrest School District in Crawford County and formerly served in that position for the Plum Borough School District, was named to Belle Vernon’s top spot in an 8-1 vote during a special school board meeting. School Director Michelle Callaway-Rodriguez voted against the appointment.
“We went a different direction to hire somebody that had prior experience,” school board President Joel Whiteko said after the meeting. “We did three interviews. We did a process and spoke to him and I felt comfortable.”
Mr. Glasspool’s four-year contract begins Oct. 2 with a $155,000 starting salary,
But Mr. Glasspool’s appointment was controversial for several community members.
During a public comment period, many people raised concerns about how Mr. Glasspool handled a sexabuse scandal that rocked the Plum’s school district while he was superintendent in 2015.
According to an 89-page grand jury report issued that year by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, three former teachers were accused of having sexual relationships with students, including Joseph Ruggieri and Jason Cooper, who pleaded guilty to institutional sexual assault for having a relationship with a female student. Former substitute teacher Michael Cinefra pleaded guilty in 2017 to having a sexual relationship with a 15-yearold.
The report also documented several instances where Mr. Glasspool and former Plum Senior High School Principal Ryan Kociela were allegedly made aware of inappropriate conduct between the teachers and students but did not take those concerns to law enforcement. Instead, the district conducted its own internal investigation.
But findings in the report were not enough to lead to criminal charges against administrators.
Instead, Mr. Glasspool and Mr. Kociela were placed on paid leave in the year following the findings. Mr. Glasspool was later reinstated but in 2017 reached aseparation agreement with the district in which he still received $184,063 as part of the deal.
After leaving Plum, Mr. Glasspool was hired as superintendent of Penncrest School District. He has held that position since 2018.
“We don’t need this,” Rostraver resident Jodie Winwood said. “How can we trust this guy with our children, our staff? Can someone please tell me how can we trust him?”
Mr. Glasspool, who declined to comment after the meeting, told residents that some of the issues at Plum “weren’t necessarily my fault but they were my responsibility as superintendent to deal with.” He suggested there were several things he would have done differently, such as interacting with families, but noted that the teachers involved in the incident were arrested.
“I am not going to try to persuade anybody or change their opinion or perspective on myself,” Mr. Glasspool said. “As you said, time will tell. I am happy to sit down with any family in the community that would like to speak with me about this or any other concerns they have.”
But the meeting quickly deteriorated as public comment turned into arguing between community members and Mr. Whiteko, who brought up allegations against one resident and questioned why another did not seek re-election on the school board. Mr. Whiteko is serving his last year.
When asked by a community member why a special board meeting was held for the vote, Mr. Whiteko said, “It was festering. We went through a process. Everyone was satisfied, so why wait? Why go to the work session? Because I didn’t want this kind of stuff interfering with the work session and the regular meeting.”
But the sentiment among speakers from the public largely remained the same as they questioned Mr. Glasspool’s past and asked the board to hold off on the vote.
“We need to vet this candidate more,” parent Martha PattersonAvery said. “We should not push this through. I don’t want one of my children being pushed aside or looked over. … So I ask you to vet this candidate more. More questions, more meetings. I’m not saying he’s innocent, I’m not saying he’s not innocent. I’m saying that we need to look into this more because I don’t want any child to be in this situation.”
Resident Belinda Longnecker agreed, adding that sexual abuse is something a child never recovers from.
“It is just unbelievable to me that we would have anybody come into this school district with this stuff in his past,” Ms. Longnecker said. “From what I understand, he did nothing to stop it.”
Ms. Callaway-Rodriguez in a statement before she voted against the appointment apologized to the community for not being able to hire the “most highly talented candidate.”
“My promise to you is I will continue to practice good character by using high standard morals and values that had been instilled in me and do the best for BVA as I was elected to do,” Ms. Callaway-Rodriguez said.
Others, including John Habel III, defended the vote.
Mr. Habel said he understands the community’s concerns, but said he is confident that any inappropriate behavior would be dealt with in an appropriate manner.
“Dr. Glasspool has over 10 years of experience as superintendent,” Mr. Habel said. “I believe hiring someone with experience as a superintendent should be our main objective. I’m confident that if given the chance Dr. Glasspool will lead this district forward.”