Large crowd voices opposition as Highlands renews superintendent's contract

An overflow crowd turned out Monday to hear the Highlands School Board consider a contract renewal for Superintendent Monique Mawhinney, seven months before her term is set to expire.

Close to 100 people crammed into the high school library, with several asking the board to consider the district’s economics, test rankings and teacher turnover.

“We shouldn’t rush into this until we see the 2023 test score results,” said Eugene Becker, who has lived in Harrison for more than 35 years and whose wife is a retired teacher.

“Of the 168 teachers in this district, 68 have left. That’s a rate of nearly 40% — compared to the national average of 8%. Something is seriously wrong here.”

James Powell of Fawn spoke in favor of Mawhinney, who was hired full time in 2019 after serving one year as assistant superintendent.

“Our district is better than it used to be. She holds people accountable. She’s at all the events,” Powell said. “Let’s give her a chance.”

In the end, the board voted 9-0 on a contract renewal with a 5% pay raise for a term that starts next April and runs through June 2028.

Mawhinney will be paid $177,109 in the contract’s first year, up from about $168,000 this year.

“There are always going to be lovers and haters,” Mawhinney said. “I will continue to do what’s best for everyone in this district.”

The vote didn’t sit well with many, including school board candidate Eli Majocha, who is all but assured a board seat after being one of the top two vote-getters for both the Republican and the Democratic tickets in the spring primary.

“We are a poverty-ridden district,” Majocha said. “The bump to $177,000 is too high. We should be letting some of the new board members have input. This was given to the community too abruptly.”

He cited a census.gov report that lists more than 20% of the families in the district living in poverty.

Harrison resident Paul Rutkowski said the board should consider salaries of comparable districts in the Alle-Kiski Valley.

“I don’t see any much over $150,000,” he said. “What justifies $177,000?”

The overall mean salary for superintendents across the state is $158,670, according to the American Association of School Administrators.

In the Alle-Kiski Valley, where there are 12 school districts, superintendent salaries range from $127,000 in Riverview, which has about 950 students, to $200,000 in Fox Chapel Area, which has 4,085 students and only 1% of people live under the poverty line. Highlands has about 2,250 students.

At New Kensington-Arnold, Superintendent Chris Sefcheck earns $138,375; Freeport Area’s Ian Magness is paid $161,000.

“What has she done to earn her salary?” resident Kathleen Rankin asked.

Fawn resident Christina Faltot was more concerned with what she called a lack of morale in the classroom.

“The kids definitely feel the tension and lack of respect from the administration,” she said. “It trickles down from the top, and I’d like to see us focus on fixing that.”

It appeared that the push back from the audience frustrated at least one board member.

Laura Butler questioned whether the incoming board members would have the knowledge to renew an administrative contract. She called Monday’s crowd a “comical sideshow.”

She said Mawhinney realigned the district’s curriculum with state standards, implemented a zero-based budget process and improved communication with the community.

“We all work with people we don’t like. That’s the real world,” Butler said. “We’re trying to do the best we can for your students.”

Board members Bobbie Neese, Gene Witt, Deb Lehew, Judy Wisner and Laura Butler spoke at the meeting, explaining their favorable vote.

“We’ve asked her to move this district forward,” Witt said. “It doesn’t mean all the results have fallen into place, but I don’t know what she could’ve done differently.”

Board member Nicole Kocon said there has been a lot of tedious work done behind the scenes to reposition the school district for a better future.

“Change is hard but it’s happening. Everyone should be proud of this,” Kocon said.

“Sadly, our decline happened over the course of many years of weak leadership — of both the board and administration — and it will take an equal number of years to get us out of that hole and where we need to be to best serve our students, community and each other.

“In my opinion, our trajectory has finally turned back in the right direction. It will just take time to see results.

”My prediction is that this current third-grade class is where we will see meaningful results.”

Board members Kelli Canonge, Kristie Babinsack and Ashley Javier did not respond to requests for comment early Tuesday.