SCRANTON — Melissa McTiernan, a former basketball standout and math teacher turned administrator, will now start in a new position: superintendent of the Scranton School District.
With a 9-0 vote, school directors appointed McTiernan to lead the district, including a team of administrators also approved Wednesday night.
The votes come after several months of the leaders working in acting capacities — and serve as the last votes for a majority of school directors, who will leave the board next month.
“I’m so glad Mrs. McTiernan is going to be the leader of the pack,” outgoing Director Greg Popil said. “I know the district will be in good hands with her.”
McTiernan — a member of the 1995 NCAA national championship basketball team at the University of Connecticut — wore her championship ring for good luck Wednesday night. Her contract, which runs through June 2024, includes a salary of $150,000 the first year, with 2.5% yearly raises.
“We’ve made a lot of progress,” McTiernan said. “This team is vested in doing the right thing. We’ll give it everything we’ve got.”
A graduate of Scranton Preparatory School, University of Connecticut and Wilkes University, McTiernan taught math in Connecticut and the Pocono Mountain School District before becoming an administrator in Scranton more than a dozen years ago. She most recently served as chief academic officer.
One of McTiernan’s first tasks will be to present a balanced budget by the end of December. She also plans to improve student achievement and academic growth and follow the goals outlined in the district’s recovery plan.
“I’m dedicated to this place. The students are my No. 1 priority,” she said. “We need to get this district back to where it should be.”
When former Superintendent Alexis Kirijan, Ed.D., suddenly resigned in August, McTiernan became acting assistant superintendent. Impressed with her performance, Chief Recovery Officer Candis Finan, Ed.D., asked the board to appoint McTiernan to the new role.
McTiernan, 45, lives at Lake Winola in Wyoming County with her husband, Bob McTiernan, executive director of the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit and a former Scranton administrator.
Along with the superintendent, the board removed the “acting” title from other administrators, at the request of Finan. The employees received a combined annual raise of $72,000. By continuing to keep some positions vacant, the district will still save about $540,000 per year, leaders said.
Employees and their salaries include Paul Dougherty, director of secondary education/technology director/operations, $116,150; Ann Grebeck, director of elementary education/director of federal programs, $116,150; Danyel Boyce, principal, West Scranton Intermediate School, $95,411; Shannon Rucker, assistant principal, West Scranton Intermediate School, $88,062; Nora Phillips, principal, Bancroft Elementary School, $99,586; Andrea Musto, floating assistant principal, Tripp, Armstrong and Whittier elementary schools, $82,835; Julie Maloney, assistant technology director, $93,458; and Terry Whalen, principal of the Electric City Academy, $95,411.
In other business:
n Members of the maintenance and clerical workers union need help, said their union president, Luann Henehan. Only three clerks help students check out books in libraries, after the district eliminated librarians last year. Just 28 full-time custodians clean the district’s 19 buildings after school each night, she said.
“I want you to know how hard they’re all working,” Henehan said. “It’s an impossible task.”
n As part of the recovery plan, directors eliminated a double discount period for real estate taxes. March 15 will now be the deadline for a single 2% discount.
n In cases of inclement weather, the district can now call for a three-hour delay if more than the normal two-hour delay is necessary. When the district calls a three-hour delay, there will be no morning preschool. Elementary schools would start at 11:10 a.m., followed by the high schools at 11:15 a.m. and intermediate schools at 11:45 a.m. Dismissal times would remain the same.
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133; @hofiushallTT on Twitter