District hires away Montour school chief as new superintendent
Montour School District’s superintendent has been hired to run the West Jefferson Hills schools.
The West Jefferson Hills School Board on Tuesday night unanimously approved the appointment of Michael Ghilani as its new superintendent.
His contract runs through June 30, 2021, at an annual salary of $177,500. He is expected to begin by April 1.
Since July 2015, he has served as superintendent of the Montour School District. Prior to that, he was an assistant principal and principal of Upper St. Clair High School for 14 years, during which he was named Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals (PAESSP) Secondary Principal of the Year in 2013.
“I’m elated to be here,” Mr. Ghilani, 44, said.
He also said the biggest selling point for the job for him was “the level of commitment of the board, and the level of dedication of the community to be great.”
Mr. Ghilani received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and education from Washington and Jefferson College; a master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Pittsburgh; a doctorate in counseling and supervision from Duquesne University; and a principal certification from Carnegie Mellon University.
He is an adjunct professor at California University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches in the Counselor Education and Administrative Studies programs.
“We wanted to find a leader that was strategic and innovative and caring,” board President Brian Fernandes said. “He is the type of guy who can lead you in the 21st century, and yet take a student and sit down with him and understand him due to his counseling background.”
He said he is looking forward to Mr. Ghilani “taking charge” of the new Thomas Jefferson High School construction project. The school building, which is being built on a 151-acre site across from the district administration building on Old Clairton Road, is scheduled for completion in July 2018.
Since July, Elizabeth H. Wheat, supervisor of special education/pupil personnel for West Jefferson Hills, has served as acting superintendent. She replaced superintendent Michael Panza, who retired. She will resume her supervisory role.
Mr. Ghilani, of South Fayette, grew up in Finleyville, and attended preschool in the district. His mother, Dorothy Ghilani, taught mathematics at Thomas Jefferson High School from 1966 to 1997.
His wife, Lauren, is a teacher in the Upper St. Clair School District, and they have three young daughters.