FAIRVIEW — The Fairview School Board has accepted the retirement of the Fairview School District’s longtime superintendent and named one of the district’s former superintendents as superintendent while the school board searches for new leadership on an interim basis. We have taken the first step towards returning to .
Ending weeks of uncertainty, the school board voted unanimously Monday night to accept the retirement of Eric Kincaid, effective Oct. 31, after 14 years as superintendent. The school board also voted unanimously to waive the terms of Kincaid’s contract giving him a six-year term with the district. He gave several months’ notice that he planned to retire.
The board then announced its intention to hire Kincaid’s previous superintendent, Larry Kessler, as interim superintendent. Kessler retired from public education after retiring as superintendent of the Fairview School District in 2009, but is available to serve as interim superintendent, the school board said.
Board President Jim Lyons said during Monday night’s meeting that the board plans to vote on Kessler’s temporary employment at its next regular meeting, scheduled for Oct. 23. He said the board plans to discuss the search process again on Oct. 23.
The board’s vote Monday night ended a period of turmoil in the 1,888-student Fairview School District. According to the official notice of the meeting, the board held a closed executive meeting for 2 hours and 30 minutes on Oct. 2 to discuss personnel matters related to Mr. Kincaid, but Lyons’ confidentiality rules state that the board He said he was prohibited from revealing the nature of the problem. .
Kincaid, 50, said he is taking early retirement to pursue job opportunities that have just presented themselves.
Whatever prompted Kincaid’s retirement, the move surprised the school board. Kincaid’s decision to retire early forces the school board to pursue hiring an interim superintendent, with no succession plan in place.
“The Fairview School District is in the midst of a major transformation,” Lyons told an audience of about 35 people Monday night. “For a lot of people in the community and frankly a lot of people on the school board, this transition came suddenly.”
District Attorney George Joseph, who attended Monday’s meeting, said the school board is allowing Kincaid to leave school early by waiving the six-month notice requirement. Otherwise, the board would have asked Kincaid to stay on for another six months, Joseph said. This is clearly not what the board wanted based on the results of the vote.
In an Oct. 3 interview, Kincaid told the Erie Times-News he asked the school board to waive the notice requirement so he could leave with just one month’s notice without losing accrued benefits. he said.
But Joseph told the Erie Times-News Monday night that Kincaid would have received those benefits regardless of the exemption. Joseph said the waiver of this requirement allowed the school board to terminate Kincaid’s contract effective Oct. 31, rather than requiring him to stay for an additional six months. Ta.
Kincaid earns an annual salary of $178,967 as superintendent and is working under a five-year contract that runs through June 30, 2025.
Lyons said he was not at Monday’s meeting but still works for the district.
Early Monday coverage:
After weeks of uncertainty surrounding the fate of the Fairview School District’s superintendent, the Fairview School Board is scheduled to resolve the controversial issue Monday night.
According to a legal advertisement in Sunday’s Erie Times News, the board called a special public meeting at Fairview High School at 6:30 p.m.
of agendaThe proposal, posted on the district’s website, includes a motion to accept Superintendent Eric Kincaid’s “resignation letter” and waive a contract provision that requires the district to provide six months’ notice of his retirement or plans to resign. It is included.
Mr. Kincaid had said that if the board waived the notification requirement, he would receive payment for accrued benefits such as accrued sick leave.
The agenda also includes another motion directing the district’s attorney to seek information from the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System regarding the possible appointment of an acting superintendent.
The board will also discuss the search for a new superintendent, the board said. plan a meeting.
A scheduled vote will take place after a motion is filed at the board meeting regarding Kincaid.
Kincaid’s motion to retire came after the school board tabled his retirement package at another public meeting a week ago. motion to approve a separation agreement with him. Board Chairman Jim Lyons said at the beginning of the Oct. 9 meeting that the board tabled the motion “due to changing circumstances and on the advice of legal counsel,” but did not provide further details.
On Monday night, the board could approve, amend, deny or table the retirement motion. The board may also introduce other motions.
The Lions declined to comment pending the board’s vote.
Kincaid’s request for early retirement and undisclosed personnel issues surrounding him have depleted the nine-member roster. Fairview Board of Education several weeks.
This situation puts Lyons and Kincaid at odds. Lyons disputes Kincaid’s claim that he informed the board president this summer of his intention to retire at the end of this school year.
Lyons said Kincaid never communicated his intention to retire early, and Lyons said Kincaid, 50, will remain on his current five-year contract, which ends June 30, at an annual salary of $178,967. He said he told him he intended to stay in his job. , 2025. Since 2014, Kincaid has served as superintendent of Fairview School District, population 1,888, one of the wealthiest schools in the area.
“Personnel issues” are a hot topic.
Behind the debate over whether Kincaid should step down or resign is an undisclosed personnel matter involving him. The board held a closed executive session for two hours and 30 minutes on Oct. 2 to discuss what the board described in its legal advertisement for the meeting as a “personnel matter involving the superintendent.”
![The Fairview School Board will vote Monday night on whether to accept the early retirement of Fairview School District Superintendent Eric Kincaid.](https://www.goerie.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2023/10/02/NETN/71038875007-p-1-fairview-100223-jpg.jpg?width=660&height=558&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
On Oct. 3, Kincaid told the Erie Times-News that his request for early retirement was discussed at a board meeting, which he briefly attended, which he attended. He told the Times-News in an email that he had informed the Lions board chairman of his intention to leave early. “Another opportunity presented itself and I wanted to move that date forward,” he said in an email.
The Lions told the Erie Times-News that Kincaid never said he wanted to retire early. He said the school board cannot discuss personnel issues surrounding Kincaid due to confidentiality concerns.
“As a school board, we are aware that there have been numerous rumors and allegations circulating over the past several months regarding personnel matters within the district,” Lyons said during a packed board meeting Oct. 9. spoke to the nation at a packed board meeting. As this is a personnel matter, the school board is not authorized by law to comment further.
“Over the past two weeks, many of us have put our work and family lives on hold to deal with the fallout from this disruption. All members elected to the current Board of Directors are committed to being proactive on this issue. Please know that you are playing a role in the process we are engaging in tonight.
“Your voices have been heard, and the interests and well-being of all students, faculty and staff in the Fairview School District remain our top priority,” Lyons said.
Kincaid, a Fairview resident, has led the Fairview School District since September 2009.
Prior to becoming superintendent of Fairview Schools, Mr. Kincaid served as the district’s director of curriculum development, instruction and assessment for three years. He came to Fairview from the Valley School District in Oswayo, Potter County, where he was the principal in July 2006.
Kincaid, who retired from public education at age 50, faces a financial hit to her pension. If you take advantage of your pension soon after you retire, you will be subject to a hefty penalty as you have not yet reached the normal retirement age under statutory rules. Pennsylvania Public School Employee Retirement System.
Please contact Ed Palattella. epalattella@timenews.com. Follow him on X @ETN Paraterra.