Three employees placed on unpaid leave of absence

The move was based on their alleged failure to report a child sex abuse case.

Three McKeesport Area School District employees have been placed on unpaid leave of absence following disciplinary hearings in connection with the alleged failure to report child sex abuse that led to the superintendent’s resignation.

After Thursday’s school board meeting, Solicitor Gary Matta confirmed the resolutions listed on the agenda as “#1397, #1398 and #1399” involved three of the employees that faced Loudermill hearings. The board voted 7-1 in favor of each motion, with Director Dan Goughnour casting the lone dissenting vote. Director David Seropian was absent from the meeting.

Five district employees in total, including Superintendent Dr. Tia Wanzo, had disciplinary hearings. Matta said one of those employees will be reinstated from a paid leave of absence.

The three employees on unpaid leave of absence, which went into effect Thursday, will either go through a hearing or arbitration process to give them the ability to regain their positions.

The board voted 8-0 to hire Albert Educational Consulting, based in Mount Lebanon, to assist the district in searching for a superintendent. Some residents asked the board if the firm will consider the public’s input in the search.

McKeesport resident Cynthia Baldwin, a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court judge, said she wants to make sure that the firm leading this search has a diverse background.

“I mean gender, I mean economic and social background,” Baldwin said. “It’s important that the community has input into that.”

“Questions we have from the public today about public comment in this process, he does get public input through surveys, meetings and so forth,” Matta said after the meeting.

Thursday’s meeting was packed with district residents and parents who expressed their concerns about how the district is moving forward amid the controversies it has dealt with at the start of the school year.

“We are very concerned about the temperature of the city,” said Rev. Richard Truss from Zion Baptist Church.

Acting Superintendent William Pettigrew

will remain with the district until a new superintendent is hired. Although he’s a parttime employee for the district, Pettigrew said he’s working more than 40 hours a week.

“I’m not planning on staying here. I’m not going for this job, and that’s not my intent at all,” Pettigrew said. “My intent here is to keep things moving along.”

Additionally, the board authorized the hiring of Ray Andrekanic as acting police chief at a salary of $85,000 for one year. Brenda Sawyer, who started as police chief in February, was placed on a paid leave of absence after she was arrested and accused of stealing $121,000 from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and $52,650 from the McKeesport NAACP chapter.