Erie board honors outgoing superintendent and secretary; approves no‑tax‑increase budget and new accountability post

ERIE, Pa. — The Erie City SD board on Wednesday approved its 2025‑26 budget with no tax increase, voted to hire a new chief accountability officer and paid tribute to outgoing Superintendent Brian Pulido and Board Secretary Angela Jones at a meeting in the district administration building.

The board’s action on the budget — adopted as part of the consent new‑business package — followed discussion about restoring library services and a strategic‑planning process. Board President Dr. Jay Brennaman said the supplemental item creating the new chief accountability officer role would be considered separately; the board then voted to fill that position from an external candidate.

Why it matters: The budget vote sets day‑to‑day district funding and policy priorities for the coming year without increasing the school tax rate. The new chief accountability officer is intended to oversee key performance indicators and support the district’s upcoming strategic plan, a change board and administration described as filling a long‑standing operational gap.

Board members and administrators spent a substantial portion of the meeting acknowledging Pulido’s and Jones’s retirements. Dr. Brennaman opened that portion of the meeting by noting, “this will be the final meeting where Angela Jones will be our board secretary and where Dr. Brian Pulido will be our superintendent.” Pulido said, “this meeting is the last thing between me and my retirement here at the district,” and thanked board members and staff for their support.

On the chief accountability officer hire — presented to the board as the supplemental new business — Interim Superintendent Dr. (first name) Gibbs (referred to in the meeting as Dr. Gibbs) said the position was created to “help us stay true with our key performance indicators” and to support a heavy lift during the strategic‑planning process. The board voted 9–0 to approve the hire after the administration described a two‑week posting that produced about 20 applicants across five states and a multi‑round interview process.

Other business and operational updates included: - Clear‑bag screening at Erie High: Administration presented a week‑by‑week chart showing improved throughput during the 8:00–8:50 a.m. arrival window after clear bags were fully implemented; administrators said the data show more students processed through screening and that the district will continue to monitor the metric. - Cell phones and classroom discipline: District data entered into Infinite Campus recorded 3,641 classroom cell‑phone violations districtwide for the year; Erie High accounted for roughly 1,809 of those events. District staff said the numbers reflect recorded classroom incidents and that PBIS (positive behavior interventions and supports) processes and administrator recording practices will be reinforced to improve accuracy. - Electric bus rollout: The district has purchased electric buses and charging stations; buses are awaiting delivery to the fleet vendor, and the charging hardware has been received by the contractor. Administrators said they expect to start taking possession and begin launch activity in November, with a window extending into December depending on final electrical infrastructure work with the utility (discussed as Penelec in the meeting). - Career and workforce programs: Erie County Community College will run a five‑week CNA course in July with a $1,500 tuition (employers have paid tuition for the first four enrollees); the college plans an 18‑month LPN program beginning fall 2026. The board also heard committee reports on graduations and community‑school partnerships and learned the land bank sold two Locust Street lots to private buyers.

Votes at a glance: - Approve report of the secretary — Moved by Miss Devlin; second Miss Cooley. Outcome: approved (roll call: Mister Nichols, Mister Sharif, Miss Anna Tangelo, Miss Cooley, Miss Devlin, Miss Gillespie, Miss Graff, Mister Harkins, Doctor Brennaman — all yes). - Approve report of the superintendent — Moved by Mister Sharif; second by Lauren Gillespie. Outcome: approved (ayes recorded). - Approve committee reports — Moved by Gwendolyn Cooley; seconded by Daria. Outcome: approved (ayes recorded). - Adopt new business (consent items excluding supplemental) — Motion limited by consent; outcome: approved (ayes recorded). - Supplemental new business — Hire chief accountability officer (external candidate) — Moved by Doctor Brennaman; second Linda Graff. Outcome: approved 9–0 (roll call recorded as yes by all members present). - Approve schedule of bills for June 2025 — Moved by Mister Sharif; second Lauren Gillespie. Outcome: approved; Miss Devlin abstained (other members recorded yes). - Approve payrolls for 05/01/2025–05/31/2025 — Moved by Lauren Gillespie; second Zakaria Sharif. Outcome: approved (ayes recorded). - Award two bids (details attached to agenda) — Moved by Lauren; seconded by Sumner. Outcome: approved (ayes recorded).

What’s next: The board will continue the transition to incoming leadership; Dr. Gibbs has announced listening sessions and outreach planned through July aimed at staff, parents and the community as part of a 120‑day transition plan. Administrators said more detailed implementation timelines for the buses and final inspections for the Edison project will be provided as electrical work is completed.

Quotes and attributions in this story come from meeting remarks recorded on the public June 18, 2025 Erie City SD board meeting transcript.