Schuylkill Valley board appoints Dr. Patrick Winters as assistant superintendent, eliminates chief education and operations officer post

The Schuylkill Valley School District board voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Patrick Winters as assistant superintendent and to eliminate the position of chief education and operations officer.

Dr. Patrick Winters was appointed by the board under an addendum to the agenda presented at the July meeting. The board approved an employment contract for Winters covering the period 07/01/2025 through 06/30/2030 with a starting salary of $165,000. The motion to appoint Winters was moved and seconded and passed by a 7-0 roll-call vote.

The board separately approved, also by a 7-0 vote, the elimination of the chief education and operations officer position. Board members framed the pair of actions as part of staffing and organizational adjustments the district said were intended to stabilize building-level leadership and align administrative duties.

Why it matters: The personnel moves shift the district’s senior leadership structure and will determine which administrators make curriculum, operations and personnel decisions going forward. The votes also touched off questions during the public comment period about how titles and duties were being reassigned and about the timing of the appointment paperwork.

Public comments and legal clarification

At the meeting, public commenter Carol Wheaton raised concerns about late agenda changes and about duties being reassigned rather than hiring to a predefined job description. Wheaton said she was troubled the appointment appeared on an addendum one week after the committee meeting and asked for clarity on Winters’s duties and on “staff shuffling.”

Board members and the superintendent said the district prioritized classroom staffing and building stability over the past year and that the administrative reassignments followed internal planning. Superintendent Dr. Tashner told the board the district had focused on placing teachers in classrooms and stabilizing building leadership before wider administrative moves.

The district solicitor also addressed an ethics question raised during public comment. The solicitor explained that, under the state ethics rules discussed at the meeting, a board member must abstain from votes that create a conflict affecting a single individual but may participate in votes that affect a whole class of employees — the so-called "class" exception referenced in the solicitor's remarks.

What the board voted on (formal actions)

- Appointment of Dr. Patrick Winters as assistant superintendent (employment period 07/01/2025–06/30/2030; starting salary $165,000). Motion moved by Clefel; seconded by O'Donnell; vote 7-0 — approved.

- Elimination of the position of chief education and operations officer. Motion moved and seconded; vote 7-0 — approved.

Board statements and next steps

Board members described the moves as part of a multi-step effort to stabilize staffing and bring continuity to building administration. The superintendent said earlier staffing work at individual schools allowed the district to proceed with reorganizing district-level titles and responsibilities.

The board did not publish job-by-job duty sheets for each reassigned title during the meeting; members and staff said they would continue work on job descriptions and asked the public for patience as transitions occur.

Ending

Both votes passed unanimously. Several public commenters requested clearer, advance detailing of role duties and assurances about conflict-of-interest safeguards; the solicitor’s remarks at the meeting outlined the legal test the board will use for abstentions moving forward.