Hundreds pack Centennial SD meeting to protest board’s superintendent finalist and search process

Hundreds of residents packed a Centennial School District board meeting on Tuesday, May 13, pressing the board over its handling of the superintendent search and the board’s apparent advancement of a finalist, Dr. Abram Lukabaugh. Board president Mercado told the room the board will vote on a candidate at its regular meeting on May 27, 2025.

The dispute centered on two issues: whether the board followed an open, equitable search process and whether the finalist’s record in the Central Bucks School District makes him a suitable hire for Centennial. The meeting opened with a short presentation of student achievements and then unfolded into hours of public comment from parents, teachers and community groups both opposing and supporting the finalist.

“Anyone with no prior experience as a superintendent would not be interviewed,” President Mercado said, describing the search process and saying finalists were scored and coordinated through the Bucks County Intermediate Unit. “The candidate will be voted on by the elected school board members at the regular meeting of the board of school directors on 05/27/2025.”

Board member Nicole Lynch, during discussion of the search process and an executive-session meeting, asked directly, “Did we violate the Sunshine Act?” Lynch and other board members also described constraints on questions during the finalists’ IU-facilitated meet-and-greet and disagreement among directors about whether community stakeholders had adequate input.

Speakers opposing the finalist repeatedly cited his record at Central Bucks: book restriction policies, the…