Berwick Area superintendent resigns and will be reassigned as assistant to superintendent; board opens search for replacement

Wendy Kopski, superintendent of the Berwick Area School District, announced during new business that she is resigning from the superintendent position for personal reasons and asked the board to reassign her immediately to the position of assistant to the superintendent, continuing at her current salary. The board amended the agenda to add an item to accept the resignation and reassign Kopski, and later approved a motion to begin a search for a replacement superintendent.

The proposed reassignment included terms discussed on the record: Kopski’s current salary (described in the meeting as “hundred and $35,000 and change”), a contract through June 30, 2025, continued benefits mirroring those provided to Act 93 employees, prorated vacation and sick time, and an early-retirement benefit provision with an end date referenced as Sept. 10, 2025. The board said a separate contract would be drawn with the exact salary figure and other contract details.

Board members raised questions during public discussion and the board’s deliberations about the district’s cost while the district conducts a superintendent search and during any interim period when the district would be paying both the reassigned administrator and an incoming superintendent. A board member asked whether the district would be paying Kopski’s reassigned salary while also paying a new superintendent; board members confirmed the district would be paying both salaries during any period of overlap.

The board also voted to open the superintendent search contemporaneously with the reassignment discussion. The search motion passed on a voice vote of board members recorded during the meeting as multiple ayes. The meeting record shows the board amended the agenda to add the resignation/reassignment item and then took public comment before completing the added item.

Public comment included residents who asked for more transparency about district finances at the same time as the board considered the personnel action. One resident said the district’s public reporting on bills and balances had become less detailed and asked whether taxpayers would face another tax increase.

The board indicated the assistant-to-the-superintendent title had existed previously in the district; members said the position was currently vacant. Board members and the administration said the reassignment would be handled by a separate contract and that details would be returned to the board once finalized.

Actions recorded in the meeting minutes show the board amended the agenda to add the resignation/reassignment item and later approved a motion to begin a superintendent search. The minutes do not contain a complete roll-call tally for every step of the reassignment item in the public transcript excerpts provided.

The board scheduled follow-up work on the personnel matter and indicated the administration will prepare a written contract for future board action.