Oct 25, 2012 2 min read

Canon-McMillan School Board unanimously voted to hire Michael Daniels as superintendent of Canon-McMillan School District during a meeting Monday. A 16-year employee of the district, Daniels became the assistant to the superintendent in July 2009. He has been overseeing the duties of former superintendent Helen McCracken since June 2011 after she began a leave of absence for the “restoration of health.” “Mr. Daniels was our unanimous pick. We didn’t have to go outside the district to interview anyone,” board President Darla Bowman-Monaco said in a news release from the district. Daniels was given a three-year contract, and his salary was set at $135,000 annually. In late June, the district settled a complaint McCracken had filed with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, agreeing to pay her $185,000 if she waived any discrimination claims and submitted an “irrevocable letter of retirement,” which went into effect Oct. 9. The details of the complaint have not been released. At one time, the board gave Daniels a $25,000 bonus for filling in for McCracken as substitute superintendent and later acting superintendent. “Over the past year, Mr. Daniels has proven that he could not only handle the job, but do it well,” Bowman-Monaco said. Prior to being named assistant to the superintendent, Daniels was Canon-Mac’s director of special education, and previously served the district as a special education coordinator and school psychologist. He served as a special education coordinator for Washington School District. In addition, Daniels served as a school psychologist for Intermediate Unit 1 at Peters Township School District and for all non-public schools in Washington and Greene counties. A native of Washington, Daniels was the first in his family to graduate from college, receiving a undergraduate degree in psychology from Washington & Jefferson College and a graduate degree in school psychology from California University of Pennsylvania. “I understand the importance of education. I went into a career in education because, through my training and expertise, that was the most appropriate approach to helping kids, especially those with school-related problems and special needs. I want them to understand the importance of staying with it,” Daniels said. Daniels and his wife, Peggy, a former Canon-Mac school psychologist and special education coordinator, have two children, Abby, 12, and Nathan, 9.