HELLERTOWN, Pa. — To the chagrin of critics, Saucon Valley School Board on Tuesday approved a four-year contract with a $205,000 base salary for Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty, who will continue leading the district through June 2030.
In a tense, packed school board meeting, residents took aim at Vlasaty’s performance and chastised the board for both a lack of transparency and the timing of the contract vote — which fell just weeks before two soon-to-be school directors are sworn in.
“It’s as bad as it looks. I think the public needs to know that,” said School Director Bill Broun, who voted against the contract and took issue with the board’s process regarding it.
“You’ve destroyed the morale of our staff and to me that’s the worst thing you could ever do."Ed Kolosky, a former Saucon Valley teacher and coach
During 30 minutes of public comments, residents criticized Vlasaty with claims of lackluster academics, staff turnover and the shuffling of educators who don’t “comply with her orders.”
“You’ve destroyed the morale of our staff, and to me that’s the worst thing you could ever do,” said Ed Kolosky, a former Saucon Valley teacher and coach.
Approached for comment, Vlasaty said she would provide LehighValleyNews.com with a statement Wednesday morning. This report will be updated to include that when it’s received.
Vlasaty has been an administrator in Saucon Valley since 2018, when she first served as director of special education.
She then became assistant to the superintendent and later interim superintendent in 2023. She was awarded a three-year contract for the position later that year.
Her new contract takes effect July 1.
Vlasaty currently is paid $182,687. That’s as of Tuesday, when school directors also approved a 3% raise for the superintendent.
Broun and school Director Jay Santos were the only board members to vote against the wage increase.
Competing evaluations of superintendent
Director Broun, who initiated a failed vote to table Vlasaty’s contract, agreed with many of the residents who expressed concerns about the chief of schools, he said.
“Our district’s reputation has declined,” Broun said. “Why would we extend a superintendent’s contract for [four] years in that situation?”
Still, the board voted 6-3 to approve the contract.
“For our superintendent, I think she has done a really good job."Cedric Dettmar, Saucon Valley School Board President
Board President Cedric Dettmar, Vice President Shamim Pakzad and Treasurer Donald Carpenter voted in favor of the contract, along with directors John Conte, Laurel Erickson-Parsons and Tracy Magnotta.
Broun, Vivian Demko and Santos voted against it, saying they were excluded from the early stages of the contract process and didn’t have ample time to analyze and discuss the contract.
“I strongly believe there’s not one person in this room that’s happy about this contract,” Demko said.
But board leadership spoke in support of the superintendent.
Board President Dettmar said Vlasaty is “smart,” “curious,” “motivated” and “willing to work hard.”
“For our superintendent, I think she has done a really good job,” Dettmar said. “And I believe that she’s growing and getting better at the things that she’s not perfect at.”
Board Vice President Pakzad said the goals of the superintendent and the school board are to “care for the public’s money” and to “provide an excellent education to our students.”
He said Vlasaty “gets a lot of credit” for the district’s financial strength, particularly during the state budget impasse as other districts take on loans for their expenses.
Additionally, Pakzad said Saucon Valley is a “well-functioning school district” that has strong academics, ranking among the top in the Lehigh Valley.
He said the district’s attractiveness is evident by the competitive housing market for families looking to live in Saucon Valley.
Pakzad again said Vlasaty’s leadership has been essential to that success.
Critique of board transparency
Residents on Tuesday were critical not only of Vlasaty, but also took issue with school directors.
Some said the school board hasn’t been transparent regarding Vlasaty’s contract, noting the document wasn’t listed publicly before the vote.
School directors said that was because it was being updated up until the last minute.
The term length of Vlasaty’s proposed contract decreased from five years to four years as a compromise among school directors.
"No."Mark Fitzgerald, Saucon Valley's solicitor on whether the Sunshine Act was violated
When a reporter requested a copy of the contract after the Tuesday meeting, the school board president declined to share it on the advice of the district’s solicitor. The contract will be posted online Wednesday morning, he said.
The district’s attorney Mark Fitzgerald read out some terms of the contract during the meeting.
When asked by a reporter whether the board violated Open Meetings law by voting on the contract before it was made public, Fitzgerald said, “No.”
Fitzgerald also was asked whether the move violated the spirit, or intent, of the law, to which he again said, “No,” without elaborating.
He then walked away from a reporter after having previously declined to have a conversation about the matter.
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.
Why the rush?
Residents also questioned the timing of the superintendent contract vote. That’s because it took place just before two soon-to-be school directors are sworn in next month, following the results of last week’s election.
The school board had until the end of the year to act on Vlasaty’s contract or an automatic one-year extension would kick in, according to the board president.
“There could be smoke there but no fire."J. Christian Tatu, soon-to-be school director who won his seat in last week's election
J. Christian Tatu, who was elected to the Saucon Valley School Board last week, told LehighValleyNews.com he felt shut out by the board’s decision to act this month.
He said he would have preferred that the board wait until December when he and Meghan Lomangino get sworn in as new school directors.
Tatu, a Saucon Valley parent and Bethlehem Area School District teacher, said the extension of Vlasaty’s time as superintendent was a hugely “consequential decision.”
Tatu said he doesn’t “have any kind of agenda against the superintendent,” but he did express potential concerns about her leadership.
He said those include a series of administrative resignations and reassignments, the shuffling of teaching staff at the end of last school year and the handling of the After-School Satan Club controversy in 2023.
“There could be smoke there but no fire,” he said. Tatu would have more information about those situations once on the school board, he said.
'Much better position'
Lomangino, a district parent and pre-school teacher in Palisades School District, Bucks County, said she took issue with the timing of the board’s vote on Vlasaty’s contract.
She said the vote should have been handled much earlier or delayed so she and Tatu could have participated.
On Vlasaty’s performance, Lomangino said the superintendent has been accessible and responsive in her experiences, but she acknowledged the concerns expressed by other residents Tuesday.
Lomangino said it’s important the board address issues consistently and hold each other and Vlasaty accountable.
Board President Dettmar told LehighValleyNews.com the vote on Vlasaty’s contract was held Tuesday to ensure all voting board members had experience working with the superintendent for at least two years.
“You’re in a much better position to make a judgment about someone’s performance” having worked with them, Dettmar said.
