The East Stroudsburg Area School District board voted unanimously to part ways with Superintendent William Riker after renewing his contract last September for a term ending June 30, 2027.
The board plans to have John Toleno, a former Stroudsburg Area School District superintendent, start as interim superintendent on June 10, pending a vote at a special meeting.
During the May 20 meeting, the board voted 9-0 to approve a separation agreement between ESASD and Riker. During the Sept. 18, 2023, meeting, the board voted 5-3 to approve the most recent contract. Two of the five votes in favor, Debbie Kulick and Richard Schlameuss, are still on the board. All three of the votes against, George Andrews, Jason Gullstrand and Wayne Rohner, are still on the board. Rebecca Bear was absent for that vote and is currently on the board.
Prior to the May 20 vote, during public comment, two previous board members, Damary Bonilla-Rodriguez and Lisa VanWhy, stood up to speak about the district's decision to separate with the superintendent. They both voted yes during the September vote to approve the contract.
Bonilla-Rodriguez said she was "appalled at this board" for committing money for Riker and for a new superintendent "to push out the current superintendent... because of agendas, differences in opinion and a lack of boundaries by board members around positions and responsibilities."
She continued: "If we allow this school district to have a culture of paying people to leave when we don't agree with them or when there is difficulty communicating, what exactly are we teaching our students about interpersonal relationships, effective communication, conflict resolution, real-life issues?"
"Tonight the conversation is about Dr. William Riker. A few months ago it was about Dr. William Vitulli, whose contract you did not renew," said Bonilla-Rodriguez, adding that "tomorrow it can be anybody else who doesn't fall in line with where the board is."
Bonilla-Rodriguez felt this separation was a "political decision" and said the cost of the decision wasn't in the best interest of the taxpayers or school community.
VanWhy spoke up on Riker's behalf, saying "Dr. Riker did a lot for this district." She spoke of his "excellent job" in handling the district during the pandemic by having "a plan right in place" and noted that she agreed with a lot of what Bonilla-Rodriguez had already said about this separation.
According to the separation agreement between the school district and Riker, the board may relieve him of day-to-day administrative duties prior to July 31 in the event that a new superintendent is hired, but will pay him through his official last day of July 31.
The separation agreement outlined a severance package, including unused time off, as follows: $72,172.62 for 78 days of unused vacation leave, $40,950 for 78 days of unused accumulated sick leave and a severance payment of $241,500.
The total will be paid out over three lump sums: $110,000 within fourteen days of the separation date, $145,000 on Jan. 1, 2025, and the final lump sum payment on June 30, 2025. (The current total, $354,622.62, could decrease if Riker uses any of the vacation or sick leave.)
Of interest:East Stroudsburg school board approves six-year contract with raises for teachers
On Wednesday, May 29, the ESASD Board of Education announced its intent to appoint Toleno as interim superintendent following the departure of Riker, whose last day is now tentatively set for Friday, June 7.
In addition to Stroudsburg, Toleno previously served as the superintendent of Upper Merion School District in Montgomery County.
Schlameuss said the board plans to take official action to appoint Toleno during a special meeting on June 4 at 5:30 p.m. and make the appointment effective starting Monday, June 10.
"We have hired the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to provide us with an active search for a new superintendent," said Schlameuss. "We put together the search parameters and they will go through the process of advertising for the position and then we can review a list of candidates and go from there."
Schlameuss said that the process of hiring a new superintendent could potentially "take up to 180 days."
"We feel it is important to have somebody in place to help us bridge that time, all the way through and Toleno is qualified," said Schlameuss. "He is a resident of East Stroudsburg, his kids went to school here, so he is familiar with the district and comes with the superintendent experience."
Schlameuss said the termination of employment between Riker and the district was by "mutual consent."
ESASD Board President Michael Catrillo and Superintendent Riker were unable to be reached for comment.
Maria Francis covers K-12 education and real estate, housing and development for the Pocono Record. Reach her atmfrancis@poconorecord.com.
