Two Carbon County school districts welcomed new superintendents in 2022, with Dr. Christina Fish and Robert Presley taking the reigns in Lehighton and Jim Thorpe, respectively.

Lehighton

Lehighton voted 6-2 in June to hire Fish to a contract running through Aug. 31, 2025. According to the contract, Fish, who had spent the last 12 years as Central Columbia’s director of pupil services/special education, will make $132,500 in her first year with Lehighton in addition to her $7,500 signing bonus. She is set to receive a 3% increase in each of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.

Fish, a Danville resident, came on board following the December 2021 ouster of previous superintendent Jonathan Cleaver, who sued the district after it terminated his contract, claiming previous boards approved illegal contract extensions.

Cleaver’s civil case is still pending in Carbon County Court.

Hitting the ground running, Fish unveiled an entry plan with goals including increasing presence in the district and community, increased communication with LASD stakeholders, providing the board the data they need to make informed decisions and addressing management issues such as making sure job descriptions, policies and administrative regulations are up to date.

“The school board has talked a lot about transparency and a big component of that is making sure we communicate things as they happen,” Fish said. “We need to make sure students, parents and staff are aware of the decisions being made. We also need to make sure the board is making decisions based on data.”

Following up on her goal of getting as much data to the board as possible, Fish began providing monthly reports to the board on student enrollment as well as student and staffing absences. She also planned two open houses, one which took place in November and another scheduled for March 8 where community members can come in between 4 and 7 p.m. and chat with her to get questions answered in a less formal setting than a board meeting.

In addition to monthly superintendent reports at board meetings, Fish said she plans larger January and June progress reports to the group, as well as an end of the year newsletter encompassing a look back at the past 12 months and a preview of things to come. The superintendent page on the district website, she said, will be updated quarterly.

Fish’s hiring wasn’t completely devoid of controversy, however. Walter Zlomsowitch was one of two directors to vote against the hire, and he later resigned his position on the board during the same meeting.

“I thought when we were first sitting down to try to find a replacement, the goal was to find an experienced superintendent,” Zlomsowitch said. “That was my thought but I guess it was just an assumption.”

Fish joined Central Columbia in 2010 as special education director. In addition, she was the district’s Title IX officer, Office of Civil Rights officer, homeless liaison, and foster care liaison. She also worked for the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit for 17 years; six as a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, one as an educational consultant in behavior and curriculum & instruction, and 10 as a special education supervisor.

Lehighton also hired Mary Figura in August as assistant to the superintendent at an annual salary of $117,000.

A Jim Thorpe resident, Figura came to Lehighton after nearly three years with the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District near Philadelphia. She is responsible for directing curriculum activities of the school district including development, implementation, evaluation, and re-evaluation of the district’s K-12 instructional program, including federal programs.

Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe hire Presley, a Lackawanna County resident, in June at a salary of $122,000 after opting not to renew John Rushefski’s expiring contract. Presley, who was a principal at Riverside Junior-Senior High School, was among 16 candidates who were considered for the job.

“I love this area, and I’m excited about being a superintendent,” Presley said at the time. “This district really seems like it fits with my experience.”

Board members touted Presley as a strong leader who could bring exceptional results to the district.

The board informed Rushefski early in 2022 they would not be renewing his contract.

Board President Scott Pompa said that new board members who were not in their seats when Rushefski was hired set clear goals when they were elected, and he didn’t feel that sufficient progress had been made.

“I felt it was bogged down, it wasn’t happening at the pace we hoped it would,” Pompa said.

One area of concern, Pompa said, was the district budget. The district has run multimillion dollar deficits since before Rushefski was hired. Pompa said he hoped to see the administration do more to control and cut expenses.

“We are what I consider a conservative board. We’re always looking for ways to cut spending,” Pompa said.

Rushefski remained in the area, however, taking an acting high school principal position at Northern Lehigh High School through the end of the 2022-23 school year.