Springford board approves interim principal hire, acknowledges Dr. Scanlon's appointment

The Springford Area School District board of school directors on Tuesday unanimously approved personnel item 4C to hire an interim principal and publicly acknowledged the recent appointment of Dr. Scanlon to the district. The board voted 8-0 on each motion presented at the special meeting, which the board said was advertised in newspapers of general circulation.

The hiring decision followed a question from a board member about whether the district had considered promoting a teacher-on-special-assignment, or TOSA, to the interim principal role. Mister Rizzo, a district staff member, said the district did consider a TOSA but cited operational changes that led leadership to select a more experienced administrator. "We did consider a TOSA. There were a couple of mitigating factors which caused us to consider Dr. McCourt instead, and that was 1, the shifting that has happened to secondary administration, with a new 10 through 12, a new ninth grade center, the vacancy now as a house principal to secondary level, and with opening up a a new building after construction, we needed somebody with experience, somebody that was able to hit the ground running, that knows our team," Mister Rizzo said.

Board members moved and seconded the motions on items 4A and 4B together; those motions carried 8-0. After discussion on item 4C, the board again voted 8-0 to carry the motion. The transcript identifies the board members present at roll call as Hermans, Weingarten, Lackey, Dierdorf, Goldsmith, Westwood, Sharma and Wright; Jackson was not present.

Board remarks during the meeting also included an acknowledgment of Dr. Scanlon. The presiding officer congratulated Dr. Scanlon "for his appointment to Springford," and said the board had interviewed a strong pool of candidates in June. The presiding officer added that Dr. Scanlon brings "30 years in public education" and experience serving as interim superintendent in other districts, which the board expects will help advance ongoing initiatives.

During the public-comment portion, Michael Diaz of Limerick Township offered thanks to Mister Rizzo for his leadership and to Miss Hermans for a prompt response to an email; his remarks were brief and did not ask for board action. The meeting was adjourned after the board vote.

Discussion vs. decision: the record shows the board discussed promoting from within (TOSA) but formally approved the external interim principal hire in item 4C; the transcript does not record a motion text beyond the agenda references, nor does it specify salary, contract length or the interim principal's assigned school. Those specifics were not provided in the transcript.