Pennsbury Keeps Superintendent Until 2023

Amid uncertainty in recent weeks and revelations about complaints from staff, the Pennsbury School Board voted to retain Superintendent Dr. William Gretzula for four and a half more years.

The longtime educator will stay in Pennsbury until June 30, 2023. Board President T.R. Kannan and members Christine Toy-Dragoni, Gary Sanderson, Debra Wachspress, and Joshua Waldorf voted to keep Gretzula, while Vice President Christian Schwartz and members John Palmer and Jacqui Redner voted down the employment agreement. Board member Nancy Lawson was not at the meeting.

The new contract for Gretzula is effective January 1 and increases his pay from $176,683 to $192,000.

The vote on the new contract was a last-minute addition to the school board agenda.

The vote in favor of extending a new contract to Gretzula was met by applause from members of the audience and a hearty thank you from the superintendent.

Gretzula said he appreciated the vote to keep him in Pennsbury and would “continue to listen” to everyone, even those who did not vote for him.

“It’s a great honor to lead such a school system,” he said.

“I look forward, I really do, to come back in the new year.”

Since summer, the school board was split into two groups who vocally bickered over Gretzula’s future in the district. Their discussions have led to innuendos and vague comments about his time in the district and the conduct of school board members.

At the school board meeting earlier this month, the board stated Gretzula had withdrawn from contract talks and would end his run as superintendent by June 30, 2019.

Gretzula first was hired by the school board in May 2016 and began his job in July of that year. His original contract was for three years.

The vote to extend Gretzula’s contract came hours after a LevittownNow.com investigative report stated that at least four U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaints were filed by administrators in relation to the district.

A copy of Director of Special Education for Pennsbury Sherri Morett’s EEOC complaint was leaked to a LevittownNow.com reporter and cited an alleged incident where he used the pejorative term “bow-tied f—–t” when recounting a story about when he was bullied as a child. The document also cited a training exercise that reportedly forced the staff to participate in an “activity that had us disclose the race, disability, and sexual orientation of ourselves and our loved ones. This activity did not feel right but continued over the following months.”

The complaint obtained alleges that Morett has been “subjected to retaliation” for reporting incidents involving Gretzula using “racist and homophobic language” to the school board.

Several district employees who spoke with LevittownNow.com on the condition on anonymity said Gretzula’s leadership style has caused problems within the district. They said he has not held administrator-wide conferences and has been slow to respond to requests for action.

The school board, according to sources, were made aware of the issues.

School board President Kannan said after Thursday’s meeting that Gretzula getting a new contract was evidence about how complaints should be interpreted.

Wachspress, one of the most vocal board members in supporting Gretzula, said that the superintendent has provided strong leadership and furthered the district.

Solicitor Michael Clarke read the statement the district provided in response to the article and offered no new information.

After the meeting, Gretzula declined comment on the claims by administrators.

Lower Makefield resident Jeff Benedetto, a former township supervisor, spoke at public comment and called for the board to have more transparency. He said the claims published by this news organization were “character assignation of an honorable man” and had concern the information was released to the press.

“The real loser here is Pennsbury,” he said.

The allegations made by administrators were a “poor reflection” on the district and showed there was a “complete breakdown in communication,” Lower Makefield resident Mira Berzofsky said.

Pennsbury teacher Lucy Walter, a former teachers’ union official, said she was “very disappointed to read that article” and found it “atrocious that it was leaked.” She added that former superintendents created a negative environment in Pennsbury.

“I know that the article did not belong in the paper and did damage to our community,” she said.

“We are a community of character and not a community of characters,” she added.

Walter called for the district to put students first.