UPPER SAUCON TWP., Pa. — Southern Lehigh School Board on Monday appointed a new superintendent and approved a $215,000 settlement agreement with the district's now-former human resources director.
School directors voted 5-2 to promote Karen Trinkle, 47, from the district's assistant superintendent to chief of schools, granting her a five-year contract with a $190,000 annual starting salary.
School board President Stephen Maund, along with directors Nicole King, Mary Joy Reinartz, Melissa Torba and Christopher Wayock voted to approve Trinkle’s contract.
Board Vice President Candi Kruse and Director Emily Gehman voted against it.
Directors Eric Boyer and Timothy Kearney were absent.
Both Kruse and Gehman said they would have preferred opening up a superintendent search, taking issue with the the decision to have a direct appointment, rather than with Trinkle's leadership ability.
"I just think that we're shortchanging our community's ability to participate by making this appointment," Kruse said.
"I just think that we're shortchanging our community's ability to participate by making this appointment."Candi Kruse, Southern Lehigh School Board Vice President
Gehman also expressed concerns with some terms of the contract, such as the superintendent's evaluation goals, which she said weren't measurable.
Still, both Kruse and Gehman expressed support for Trinkle moving forward.
Other school directors honed in on Trinkle's leadership ability.
Director King said Trinkle has been able to work well with parents, teachers, administrators and the district's unions.
"I have not found one person who's complained about Karen — it's all been super positive," she said.
Moving forward, Trinkle said she is committed to keeping students at the center of all decisions and making sure everyone in the Southern Lehigh community feels "seen, heard and valued."
Trinkle had been Southern Lehigh’s assistant superintendent since 2021.
Since March, she also had been serving as Southern Lehigh’s substitute superintendent after former Chief of Schools Michael Mahon, 57, was put on administrative leave, then subsequently agreed to resign last month.
Complaints against former superintendent
Mahon’s departure came after critiques of his leadership by some school directors and formal complaints of discrimination, retaliation and fraud made against him by Ethan Ake-Little, 39, the district’s now-former HR director.
Those complaints were filed at the school-district level, and some were escalated to state and federal levels.
Among other claims, Ake-Little had accused Mahon of “negative disparate treatment” in how his performance evaluation was conducted compared with that of his heterosexual, white peers.''
Ake-Little is Indian-American and married to a same-sex partner.
When contacted Monday, Mahon directed a reporter to a previous joint news release from himself and the school board.
It said, “a number of inappropriate and unfounded public statements and disclosures” mischaracterized Mahon's leadership, which was grounded in “professional integrity and a student-centered focus.”
However, some school directors have publicly disagreed with the release.
District settles with former HR director
Also Monday, school directors approved the six-figure settlement agreement with Ake-Little, along with his resignation.
Ake-Little provided the following statement on his departure from Southern Lehigh: "While it is disappointing that my time at Southern Lehigh SD came to an unexpected end and that I did not get the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to many of my colleagues, I am nonetheless pleased that the Board and I were able to come to an amicable conclusion."
Ake-Little first started in Southern Lehigh in August of 2023.
He had been suspended with pay since June while the district investigated his performance for alleged “incompetence” and "willful neglect” of duties, among other claims that were made after his complaints were filed.
That's according to a copy of the suspension letter obtained by LehighValleyNews.com. It showed that now-Superintendent Trinkle had signed the letter, which was given to Ake-Little along with a separation agreement.
When asked Sunday about Ake-Little’s suspension, as well as the resignation and settlement, Trinkle said she was “not at liberty” to discuss them.
When school board President Maund was asked Monday about the matter, he said he cannot comment on personnel.
