Plum graduate Rick Walsh named district superintendent

Rick Walsh is the new superintendent of the Plum School District.

Walsh, previously assistant and deputy superintendent and briefly interim superintendent, replaces Brendan Hyland, who resigned effective June 30 to become superintendent of the North Allegheny School District.

At its meeting Tuesday, the Plum School Board unanimously approved a five-year contract with Walsh and a salary of $197,500. That’s an almost 17% increase from his previous salary of $168,921.

Board President Mike Devine said Walsh “has all of the tools you look for in a leader, and we are excited to have him start the next chapter of his career with the Plum Borough School District.”

A 1987 Plum High School graduate, Walsh has more than 30 years of experience in public education. He was previously a principal for the Pine-Richland and Trinity Area school districts, an assistant principal in the McGuffey School District and a teacher in Mt. Lebanon.

Walsh was hired as Plum’s assistant superintendent in April 2018, shortly after Hyland was hired as superintendent in February 2018. Walsh was named deputy superintendent in 2020.

“I have always been so proud of growing up and graduating from Plum,” Walsh said in a statement. “My focus is to keep moving the district’s strategic initiatives forward and providing opportunities for our students to be exceptionally prepared for success.”

The board approved dissolving Walsh’s previous position of deputy superintendent and creating one for an assistant superintendent.

Devine said, ideally, the district would hire an assistant superintendent by September.

“We’re not going to rush the process,” he said. “We’re going to go through everyone who applies and find the best qualified candidate for the job.”