Quaker Valley School Board approves new 5-year deal with assistant superintendent

Quaker Valley School Board members approved a five-year deal with the district’s assistant superintendent.

Andrew Surloff rose through the ranks from a teaching internship to the second highest administrator of the schools serving Sewickley, Leetsdale and surrounding communities.

School directors unanimously voted Oct. 30 to keep Surloff around into the 2029-30 school year and for what would be a 30-year Quaker Valley career at the contract’s conclusion.

Salary remains $170,712 the first year with raises of 2% to 3% in subsequent years based on annual performance evaluation and subject to Act 93 collective bargaining. Terms of the new deal begin Sept. 16.

“After 25 years of serving in the Quaker Valley School District, I am very pleased that the board continues to have confidence in me, in my work and in my leadership,” Surloff said.

“It’s mostly the people of this community (that keeps me around), especially the students that we get to serve.”

Surloff, 47, of Richland Township started as a teaching intern at Quaker Valley Middle School. He taught U.S. History and World Cultures.

In 2003, the Teacher Excellence Foundation, a Pittsburgh nonprofit foundation, named Surloff among its finalists for the region’s best teachers of the year.

Surloff was promoted to high school assistant principal in 2004 and named its principal in 2006.

He became assistant superintendent in 2014 and is in the final year of a five-year contract.

Surloff has a bachelor’s degree in political science, a master’s in teaching, and a doctorate in educational leadership, along with a superintendent’s letter of eligibility from the University of Pittsburgh.

Kati Doebler, board member and personnel committee chair, made the motion to approve the contract.

“He knows the community and he knows the kids,” Doebler said of Surloff. “He’s spent his entire career here. He is so dedicated to the district, to the kids, to the teachers. You benefit, of course, with that longevity as a district, as parents, as a community. He has a consistency. He has a long-range history and forward vision. He’s such a consummate professional.”

Doebler said she is unsure what the district’s future holds, but is thrilled to have Surloff be a part of it.

“I think the last five years (including the pandemic) have taught us to stop predicting things because you just don’t know,” Doebler said. “Who would have thought all the things we’ve had in the last few years.”

The biggest project in the school district’s immediate future is a proposed high school.

Preliminary plans have been submitted to Leet and Leetsdale planning commissions. It is unclear when respective commissioners would vote and the project may move forward.

The proposed 167,000-square-foot school is on 150 acres of land off Camp Meeting Road. It straddles Leet Township, Edgeworth and Leetsdale.

The hope is to put the project out for bid in the spring and be ready for students in a few years.

“Getting this high school completed and being able to open that building is a huge task for every administrator,” Doebler said. “Everybody has a role to play in it. That is going to be a big project for us.”

Other personnel moves

Board members unanimously approved a variety of personnel moves in addition to the assistant superintendent’s contract Oct. 30.

Brett Slezak was hired as director of innovation effective Jan. 2. His starting salary is $117,500.

He will take over for current director of innovation and strategic initiatives Karyn Dobda, who is retiring Jan. 17.

Director of student services Mike Lewis will become Edgeworth Elementary School principal in January and maintain his current salary of $134,979.

Principal Carol Sprinker is retiring at the end of the year.

Jordan Dwinell was hired as an Osborne Elementary cafeteria monitor at $13.75 per hour.

Andrew Petruska was hired as a middle school math long term substitute at a prorated salary of $45,000.

Makenzie Wetzel was hired as an Osborne Elementary educational paraprofessional at a salary of $27,827.

LeeAnn England was hired as an Edgeworth Elementary educational paraprofessional at prorated salary of $30,118.

Michael Delahanty was hired as an Edgeworth Elementary custodian at $26.08 per hour.