Local

Parents question Fox Chapel superintendent's credentials

FOX CHAPEL, Pa. — Parents in the Fox Chapel School District are questioning the superintendent’s credentials, but school board members said the accusations are false.

Questions concerning Superintendent Anne Stephens’ doctorate degree were brought up at Monday night’s school board meeting.

Stephens received her PhD from Lasalle University in Louisiana before it was raided and shut down by the FBI in 1996 as a diploma mill.

Salaries at Fox Chapel are based on the level of education, and parents said they want to know if Stephens’ doctorate is a legitimate degree.

“So should we pay for somebody that has a doctorate? If she does, yes, by all means. That’s the question being asked,” parent Mary O’Sell said.

District leaders said Stephens held all credentials required for the job when she was chosen as superintendent in 2005 and those credentials are still in place.

The school board president said they’re ready to close the investigation and no action is expected to be taken.