Board rescinds Laurel Highlands superintendent’s contract extension
The Laurel Highlands School District Board of Directors voted Wednesday night to rescind a three-year contract extension given to its superintendent in 2025.
Jesse Wallace’s contract will now end after the 2026-27 school year instead of in 2030.
The board approved the change 6-3, with members Joe D’Andrea, Tom Landman and Ken Meadows voting against it.
When approached for comment by reporters after the meeting, Wallace quickly walked offstage.
Board President Marcus Dinunno said the vote to rescind Wallace’s contract was “completely separate” from the criticism Wallace had drawn in recent months after multiple teachers were charged with inappropriate sexual conduct involving female students.
Social studies teacher Martin Gatti was later fired, while Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor Daniel Cervone resigned before the board was set to take action.
District alumni said at previous meetings they had brought concerns to Wallace about previous behavior, which he had brushed off.
The district also placed another employee on leave last spring after complaints were made to the school board. At Thursday’s meeting, directors voted 9-0 to fire the employee, referred to only as “Employee A” after the conclusion of the district’s investigation. No criminal charges have been filed against the person.
Dinunno declined to name the person or provide identifying details Wednesday night.
The employee’s name should have been made public at the meeting, said Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.
“The Sunshine Act guarantees the public’s right to give public comment before all official action (votes), and they can’t exercise the right if they don’t know who is being voted on,” she said Thursday morning.
Residents who spoke during public comment at previous meetings had spoken against Wallace’s earlier extension, and urged the board to terminate Wallace’s contract.
Dinunno said the board had voted to rescind the extension after looking at its legal options.
“Based on a legal analysis that we had from our legal counsel, we felt that it was just to do so,” Dinunno said. “…With that information at hand. I don’t want the community or the public or the district to be adherent or subject to a contract that may not be just.”
Dinunno declined to specify what may have been unjust about the contract.
Whether the board will look to retain Wallace beyond 2027 is still up in the air, Dinunno said. Dinunno said he would base his decision on “the body of work this year, or the body of work of the evaluation we just did.”
After the meeting, members of the public said they backed the shorter contract, but wanted to hear more of the reasoning behind it.
“I’m happy with it,” said Gypsy Blake, a Laurel Highlands graduate who created a community Facebook page to share information about the district. “They told us in the beginning that they couldn’t get rid of him because he was going to sue, and so what changed? I still don’t know what changed.”
Garret Breakiron, who has served as head wrestling coach for the district programs and team doctor for wrestling and football, spoke in support of Wallace at Wednesday’s meeting. Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, he said it would be “a black eye for the district.”
“I’ve always seen you treat people with the utmost respect … personally, I pray that you will have your day, Mr. Wallace, in court with a non-biased and non-political court,” he said.
The three board members to vote against shortening Wallace’s contract – D’Andrea, Landman and Meadows — were the only ones remaining of the six who voted for the contract extension in 2025.
Addressing the crowd before his vote, D’Andrea said he voted against rescinding the extension after checking with the Pennsylvania School Board Association’s legal department that it had been legal.
“I believe in my opinion that this is completely politically motivated,” he said.
By a 7-2 vote, the board also approved Wallace’s latest performance evaluation.
Dinunno declined to discuss the contents of the evaluation, but it appeared to be more critical of Wallace than in previous years.
D’Andrea, who voted against the evaluation with Landman, said only one director had responded each of the previous two years when he sent out evaluation forms.
“If your superintendent needs improvement, why not give constructive criticism that’s needed?” he said. “…This is a complete ambush, and I believe, in my opinion, politically motivated. I do not accept it as a valid evaluation.”
Board members said the evaluation would be posted on the school’s website sometime next week.
The Herald-Standard filed a Right to Know request Thursday for the evaluation, as well as employment information pertaining to the district employee fired at Wednesday’s meeting.
The board also approved a three-year contract for new Assistant Superintendent Jessica Scott by an 8-1 vote. She will have a starting salary of $124,377.39, with annual increases of $2,000. Scott was previously principal at Marshall Elementary School.
The dissenting vote came from D’Andrea, who restated his objection to not advertising the position.
After the meeting, Blake said Scott’s transparency made her optimistic about the future of the district. She pointed to a Facebook page Scott had created with news of district events.
“Had they done that from the first time I showed up here, had Wallace started doing that in the district, I don’t think I would have even had to start the page,” Blake said. “But she seems like she’s invested. She even asked me, ‘Am I doing too much? I’m like, ‘No, it’s great. You’re saving me so much time and effort.'”