Penn Hills School District superintendent to retire in October

Penn Hills Superintendent Nancy Hines is calling it a career after more than 25 years in public education.

A search is underway for her replacement. Her last day is scheduled for Oct. 1.

“It just feels right,” Hines said. “It feels like the district is stable. I think the energy (is there). The admin team is sufficiently skilled. There seems to be some stability there. They are capable of taking over.”

The longtime educator plans to spend more time with family, particularly her mother in Connellsville.

Hines, 58, said she moved in with her in June to help take care of her. Hines still owns a home in Penn Hills.

School board members approved the retirement Aug. 16.

“I wish her the best of luck in her retirement,” board president Erin Vecchio said. “She brought us through the (financial) recovery, and also brought us through the pandemic. When every other school district closed down, we didn’t. I appreciate everything that she’s done.”

Hines’ pending departure is not expected to impact the opening weeks of the new school year. The first day of school is Aug. 22.

Hines was a Penn Hills High School biology teacher from 1996-2001 and high school principal from 2005-08. She was named assistant superintendent in July 2014.

Hines became acting superintendent in February 2015 and took over for Thomas Washington, who resigned the month before. She was formally promoted to superintendent in June 2015.

She also worked for the Gateway School District as director of curriculum and instruction, a principal at Steel Valley High School and was a substitute teacher for several junior and senior high schools.

The challenges

Hines helped lead the district through tumultuous financial and health-related times, including an investigation by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.’s office into alleged misuse of taxpayer funds and other alleged criminal activity.

The grand jury investigation resulted in no charges.

An audit by state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale released in May 2016 also alleged mismanagement of funds, bad decisions and lack of oversight that put the district in abnormal debt.

The 74-page audit covered July 2012 through June 2015, prior to her rising to superintendent.

There was significant turnover in the business office with several managers coming and going in the subsequent years.

Eileen Navish was named interim business manager in March 2018 and was formally given the position later that year. She was the fourth business manager in three years.

She would go on to serve until retirement in November 2022.

John Zahorchak is the current chief financial officer.

Many checks and balances have been put in place since the audit report. The district went from negative $15 million to more than $12 million in reserves.

Hines and her administrative team also navigated the district through the ever-changing health and safety protocols throughout the covid pandemic the past few years.

“I’m most proud that we stood together,” Hines said about her Penn Hills career. “We resurrected a sense of community. The admin team — even though the personalities, the names, the faces changed throughout that time, I had multiple HR directors, multiple finance people, a few special education directors and so forth — whoever was in the seat, they understood the challenge was to be an advocate for children; to be an advocate for the community and serve as glue and hold all stakeholders together as we navigated the many storms that came our way.”

The board approved a five-year contract with Hines on Oct. 26, 2022.

Her salary in the 2023-24 school year was set at $180,000. It could have increased 2% in subsequent school years.

The board authorized an early release without penalty.

Hines pledged to help with the transition, and endorsed assistant superintendent Dawn Golden as her replacement.

“I will certainly remain accessible,” Hines said. “I will help anyone within this community or any advocate of this community who is truly and sincerely interested in the best interests of the kids in the community.

“That being said, I intend on doing nothing (after retirement) through the end of the calendar year. I’m going to give myself the opportunity to rest, and then as the new year approaches consider, do I want to do something else?”

Three out of four of Hines’ children graduated from Penn Hills. The fourth graduated from Shady Side Academy after having attending Penn Hills kindergarten through ninth grade.

Search just starting

There is no deadline to submit resumes and letters of interest to the district for the superintendent position.

Resident Heather Broman implored the board to be transparent in its search, give frequent updates and give strong consideration to candidates outside the district.

“I’d like to see a plan before (the next board voting meeting) Sept. 27, which is less than a week before (Hines) leaves,” Broman said. “I wish there was more transparency and visibility into what’s happening.”

Board member Meryl Thomas said there will be a thorough and professional superintendent search with the assistance of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

“It is done according to the procedures and everything put in place already,” Thomas said.

Vecchio, who was honored Aug. 16 by the PSBA for her 20 years of service to the board, said the district does have options if a suitable replacement is not found by the end of next month.

“If we can’t find a person by the time she retires, which I doubt, we’re going to have to (appoint) an interim supe until we find the person that we’re putting in,” Vecchio said. “I want somebody with a great education background and discipline background. I need somebody to come in here and keep things going the way they’re going.

”… With everything going on in the education field, there are a lot of people walking away. People are getting burned out in this environment, unfortunately.”