Inside the Saucon Valley superintendent's contract. See the terms and why its release was delayed

HELLERTOWN, Pa. — After resident complaints about transparency, Saucon Valley School District has posted the full copy of Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty’s new four-year contract online for the public to view for the first time.

That’s after LehighValleyNews.com kept asking about it.

Though the district isn’t legally required to post the contract on its website, school board leadership said it would be available online Wednesday morning for public viewing.

That was the day after it got approved in a controversial vote, which had prompted community members to show up to a school board meeting to criticize the superintendent’s leadership.

At the meeting, residents also chastised school directors for the timing of the contract vote — which fell just weeks before two soon-to-be school directors will be sworn in.

On Wednesday morning, the superintendent's contract wasn’t posted online like board leaders said it would be. However, LehighValleyNews.com was given a copy.

At the time, a district spokesperson said the “collective board” would have to decide whether to eventually post it online for all to view.

But after a reporter emailed the full board about why that was the case, the contract was posted the next day.

The document shows terms that weren't previously available to the public, including details about Vlasaty’s paid time off, merit bonuses and tuition reimbursement benefit.

Contract details now available

The superintendent receives 25 vacation/personal days annually, with the option of carrying over up to 20 unused days to the subsequent year.

She can cash out up to 15 days and that amount will go into her retirement account.

In addition to her $205,000 base salary, Vlasaty has opportunities to earn additional money for her performance.

If she meets certain benchmarks aligned with the district’s strategic priorities, she can earn a merit-based bonus each year of up to 5% of her annual base salary.

That’s in addition to annual raises consistent with the Act 1 Index, but not to exceed 4%.

If Vlasaty completes the full term of her contract with a proficient performance each year, the district will make a one-time $25,000 contribution to her retirement account.

Additionally, the superintendent, who is working toward a doctoral degree, will receive a full reimbursement for the cost of all courses as long as she receives a grade of at least 80% and the program is approved by the school board.

If Vlasaty successfully completes her doctoral degree during the life of her contract, she will get $10,000 added to her base pay.

The contract starts in July 2026 and expires June 30, 2030.

There’s the potential for an automatic one-year extension of Vlasaty’s contract if school directors and the superintendent can’t agree to either part ways or form a new contract during the given options window in summer 2029.

Terms not available before public comment

Not all of those terms were made available at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

Vlasaty’s contract document wasn’t attached to the relevant agenda item for the meeting. School directors said that was because they were negotiating changes up until the last minute.

Though it’s not legally required for the district to publicly post the document on the agenda, some residents said they wanted to see it.

“Without all the details available, how are the stakeholders supposed to ask informed questions or provide meaningful input?” district parent Alicia Kichline said during the public comment section of Tuesday’s meeting.

District solicitor Mark Fitzgerald read out contract highlights during the school board meeting, but not until after the initial public comment section took place.

That didn’t leave residents the chance to comment on the specific details before school directors voted.

Melissa Melewsky, counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said the timing of Fitzgerald’s statements may have caused a potential problem as it relates to the state Sunshine Act.

The Sunshine Act requires that agencies deliberate publicly and provide prior notice of meetings and agenda items so the public can “attend, participate, and comment” before official action takes place.

Melewsky said the law requires that residents be given the chance to provide “meaningful public comment.” And that can’t happen if they don’t know any information about the item being voted on, she said.

“It would be like saying we’re going to vote 'yes' on proposed policy 123. If I don’t know what’s in policy 123, how can I possibly give meaningful comment on it?” Melewsky said.

“I couldn’t. The same logic applies here.”

District responds to criticism

The only information available to Saucon Valley residents before they gave their comments on Tuesday was the start and end dates of Vlasaty’s contract.

Still, Fitzgerald maintains that the Sunshine Act was followed correctly.

“The meeting was well-advertised, hundreds of individuals were in attendance, and the board provided any member of the public who wanted to speak an opportunity,” he wrote in a Thursday email.

“No one was limited in their public testimony either in what they said or how long they took to say it. Public comment occurred before the board [took] official action on the matter.”

But school Director Bill Broun said he doesn’t think residents were given a chance to meaningfully comment and he trusts Melewsky’s analysis on the issue.

Broun said he believes residents wanted to be able to share their thoughts on “at least some of the terms of the extension.”

“The devil was in the details for sure and the public had no insight into what the details were,” he said.

Director Vivian Demko said in an email that she believes members of the public were able to meaningfully participate and share their opinions.

“I am hopeful that their input will continue and that the Board and the Superintendent will continue to improve in their respective roles, as everyone has indicated a desire to do so,” she said.

Board Vice President Shamim Pakzad said in an email that residents were well aware of the vote on the superintendent's contract and they could comment if they wanted to do so.

The contract vote was listed as an agenda item and word had spread about the vote even before the agenda became public.

The agenda did not have the contract attached.

“Items are generally placed on the agenda on Friday before the board meeting, and this item was there at that time and published for all to see,” Pakzad said.

“I have served on this board for eight years and I cannot remember a single time when a contract with any entity, be it the associations or personnel or outside entities has received more of a public notice than this one,” he said.

“Obviously when someone is not happy with a particular outcome, they occasionally question the process, but there is nothing unusual about the process here as far as transparency with the public.”

Superintendent acknowledges controversy

At Tuesday’s meeting, residents had criticized the superintendent’s performance, saying she is responsible for low staff morale, teacher turnover and the shuffling of educators who don’t follow her directives.

Similar complaints prompted a change.org petition to have Vlasaty fired in 2024.

In a Wednesday statement to LehighValleyNews.com, Vlasaty acknowledged criticism of her leadership and the school board.

“I always consider the opinions of everyone, and I will use their words as an opportunity for reflection,” she said. “My hope is that others do the same.

“We have a shared opportunity to grow, so we can guide the necessary changes to make our District stronger.”

She said her focus remains on serving Saucon Valley students and the community.

Vlasaty has been an administrator in Saucon Valley since 2018, when she served as director of special education.

She then became assistant to the superintendent and later interim superintendent in 2021.

She was awarded a four-year contract for the head position in 2022 — that term expires June 2026 and her new contract subsequently begins.