Bethlehem-Center hires new district superintendent
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Monday evening was a dream come true for new Bethelehem-Center School District Superintendent Linda Marcolini, who always wanted to work for the district once served by her mentor, Dr. Thomas Knight.
“Beth-Center is a place I’ve always wanted to be,” Marcolini said.
Bethlehem-Center board members held a special meeting Monday to hire Marcolini, who will be leaving Monessen School District to accept the position.
Marcolini’s four-and-a-half-year contact includes a base salary of $100,000, which will jump to $123,806 in 2017.
Marcolini said the decision to leave Monessen was difficult, but that it was something she had to do.
“Basically it came to the point in time where I needed to move on. I’ve been there two years, and the last eight months have not been ideal,” she said. “I either needed to deal with it or move on.”
Marcolini provided her letter of resignation to Monessen Tuesday.
“It’s been an extremely hard day for me,” she said. “But I’ve got to move on.”
Her start date depends on the Monessen school board. Marcolini said she could be forced, contractually, to stay at Monessen until Feb. 17.
“The board could let me go at any time or keep me until Feb. 17,” she said. “The board will have a special meeting (Wednesday) night to discuss the situation.”
Marcolini said a tentative start date at Beth-Center has been set for Jan. 16. Beth-Center has been without a superintendent since Dr. James Stockdale resigned in March.
In the meantime, Marcolini said she has prepared a transition plan and will assist in the hiring of her replacement in Monessen.
Prior to working in Monessen, Marcolini was assistant superintendent in Brownsville Area School District. Before that, she was a principal at Woodland Hills School District and a teacher for 16 years in Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Marcolini said she looks forward to serving the same district as her “superintendent inspiration,” Knight.
“I had him as a teacher for my superintendent classes at California University of Pennsylvania,” she said. “He was an excellent teacher, and I always said if I was a superintendent, I’d like to have his people skills. I acquired that from him.”
Knight was superintendent at Beth-Center from 1993 to 1998. He died in 2011.
Marcolini said she plans to be proactive in her new role, meeting with staff members to see “what works and what needs fixed.”
She will never forget her time at Monessen.
“I will deeply miss them,” she said. “I’ll miss the kids the most and the community, for sure.”