- East Penn School District approved a new five-year contract with Assistant Superintendent Laura Witman
- Witman's salary will be $170,171 for the first year
- She was East Penn's supervisor of secondary curriculum and instruction before becoming assistant superintendent
EMMAUS, Pa. — East Penn School Board on Monday approved a new contract with Laura Witman as the district's returning assistant superintendent.
Witman was approved for a five-year term starting Sept. 12, 2023, extending to not later than Sept.11, 2028, with a prorated salary of $170,171 to start, and a limitation of 5% maximum increases per year.
The salary listed in Witman’s contract is justified by the board “[i]n recognition of the complexity of the position of the Assistant Superintendent and the Board’s desire to compensate the Assistant Superintendent fairly,” according to the district.
Witman met the district’s Objective Performance Standards for the 2022-23 school year.East Penn’s Offices of the Assistant Superintendent webpage
East Penn’s Offices of the Assistant Superintendent webpage shows Witman met the district’s Objective Performance Standards for the 2022-23 school year.
The board approved Witman’s contract without comment or question. She was hired as assistant superintendent in 2018 at an annual salary of $140,000.
Since September 2018, Witman has served as an assistant superintendent along with Douglas Povilaitis, who came from a principal position at Oak Park Elementary School in Lansdale, Montgomery County.
Previously, Witman worked at the district as the supervisor of secondary curriculum and instruction. Prior to that, she was an assistant principal in Wilson Area School District, as well as an assistant principal at East Penn High School.
She also has been an assistant principal/gifted teacher/technology coach at Twin Valley School District; a high school English teacher at Hamburg Area, Tulpehocken Area and Twin Valley school districts; a women’s soccer coach and NCAA CHAMPS life skills coordinator at Alvernia University.
Taken leadership roles at East Penn
During her time at East Penn, Witman led efforts to add 15 courses to the district’s high school program of studies, in addition to adding a Global Science Inquiry, a Next Generation Science Standards-aligned freshman science course focused on inquiry, science, and engineering practices.
Witman also served as a leader on the district’s technology committee, and its grading and assessment committee.
Witman is a graduate of Kutztown University, and has a master’s degree from Alvernia University.
According to Witman’s contract, leadership goals for the assistant superintendent during the current school year include providing leadership for the implementation of equitable educational opportunities for all students in the district, providing leadership for the planning and implementation of programs that develop student wellness, and support for the development of a sustainability plan for the district’s infrastructure.
East Penn approved Superintendent Kristen Campbell for a new five-year contract in May.
East Penn’s 10 schools include about 8,000 students and over 500 instructors. They rank within the top 20% of schools in Pennsylvania based on combined math and reading proficiency testing data as of the 2020-2021 school year, according to Public School Review.
