BELLE VERNON, Pa. — The Belle Vernon Area School District voted 8-1 at a meeting Tuesday night to hire Timothy Glasspool as the district’s next superintendent.
The decision was viewed by some parents and community members as controversial.
The approval meeting was not without fireworks.
“I’m tired of you coming in here. No. You’re not talking. This isn’t just talk out loud. You’re silent. You can have your chance to talk. I’m talking to her,” School Board President Joel Whiteko yelled at a member of the audience at one point.
When asked by Channel 11 about his conduct afterward, Whiteko said, “I’m unprofessional. That’s the way I am.”
Several parents and community members spoke out during the meeting, concerned with Glasspool’s past.
He was the Plum School District Superintendent during a teacher-student sex scandal in 2015.
Three teachers pleaded guilty to having sex with students.
Glasspool resigned in 2017 and was hired as superintendent a year later at Penncrest School District in Northwestern Pennsylvania.
“You’re running the district. You’re looking after the children. You’re looking after the staff. You have a big responsibility. And to say you didn’t know this was going on with three children and three teachers, c’mon, that’s no, not acceptable,” said Jodie Winwood, a parent of three Belle Vernon students.
“You can’t turn your head to the truth. You have to act on it,” added community member Jim Brown.
Glasspool declined to answer questions from reporters, speaking only during the meeting, briefly.
“I am not going to try to persuade anybody or change their opinion or perspective on myself. As you said, time will tell. I am happy to sit down with any family in the community that would like to speak with me about this or any other concerns they have,” Glasspool said.
District leaders supported the hiring, saying Glasspool went through an extensive hiring process and has ten years of experience as a superintendent.
“We did three interviews. We did a process and spoke to him. I felt comfortable with it,” Whiteko said.
Glasspool is set to begin in his new role on Oct. 2.
His contract runs through June 2027.
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