UPPER SAUCON TWP., Pa. — The Southern Lehigh School Board appointed a new director of human resources Monday – but one school director says the woman hired for the job isn’t being compensated fairly.
School Director Emily Gehman said the past two male HR directors started in the same role earning at least $5,000 more than Darbe DeHaven, whose three-year contract was unanimously approved by school directors.
DeHaven, who will start on the job this fall, was granted an annual starting salary of $125,000 with 20 vacation days and four personal leave days per year.
She has been the HR director at Eastern Lebanon County School District for more than two years and previously worked in HR for Lehigh County. In total, she has more than 11 years of experience as a human resources professional.
DeHaven steps into the HR director role after the previous department head controversially left the school district in recent months.
Pay disparity among HR directors past and present
Ethan Ake-Little resigned from the position in August, receiving a $215,000 payout as part of his settlement agreement with the district.
Ake-Little had been suspended with pay for more than two months while the district investigated his performance. His suspension came after Ake-Little filed complaints of discrimination, retaliation and fraud against the former superintendent.
Ake-Little started as Southern Lehigh’s HR director in 2023 at an annual salary of $130,600.
Before that, Anthony Pidgeon held the role and was granted an annual starting salary of $130,000 when his contract was approved in 2021.
School Director Gehman was cut off by her colleagues at Monday’s meeting as she pointed out the disparity between DeHaven’s pay and the salaries of the men who held the job before her.
Some school directors claimed the issue should be discussed in an executive session.
But Gehman continued airing her concerns, which she said represent a pattern of pay disparities between female employees in the district and their male counterparts.
She doesn't believe any such disparities are a "conscious decision," but rather the result of the district lacking an "overarching policy or methodology" for how administrators are compensated.
Business director gets more vacation time than superintendent
Gehman also pointed to another administrative contract on Monday’s agenda to support her position.
Louis Pepe, director of business services, was granted a three-year extension of his contract with a $175,000 annual salary as of November. Pepe has 25 vacation days and five personal leave days per year.
Gehman was the only school director to vote against Pepe’s new contract, but she said the decision was not based on Pepe’s performance.
“I am talking about systemic things that I have raised over and over again about the disparities between men and women in this district.”Emily Gehman, Southern Lehigh School Board
She and other school directors praised Pepe's performance.
Gehman said her vote was a show of concern about equitable pay in Southern Lehigh.
“I am talking about systemic things that I have raised over and over again about the disparities between men and women in this district,” Gehman said.
“This is another example – Mr. Pepe is getting more vacation days than our superintendent does.”
Superintendent Karen Trinkle gets 20 vacation days per year, which is five fewer days than the business director will get with his new contract.
Trinkle, who assumed her position as chief of schools in August, has a five-year contract with a $190,000 annual salary.
Compensation concerns about secretaries, instructional assistants
Gehman also highlighted compensation issues affecting district employee groups dominated by women.
“All of our district secretarial staff are women, and we just had to fight to get agreement on giving them a living wage this year,” Gehman said.
Administrative assistants on a 12-month term earn between $44,500 and $60,500, according to the support staff compensation plan that took effect July 1.
Gehman said instructional assistants, who are “overwhelmingly” women, were told they would have to wait until next year to get two paid vacation days as a cost-saving decision for the district.
She also said instructional assistants don’t get paid for their seniority.
“An IA who has worked here for 15 years gets paid the same rate as an IA who has worked in Southern Lehigh for 15 days,” she said.
Instructional assistants, who work on a 10-month term, earn $23.70 per hour as of this fiscal year, according to the support staff compensation plan.
Update to come
As Gehman made those points and others, some board colleagues interrupted her and called for a recess to talk about her concerns privately.
School directors eventually paused the public meeting for a closed-door discussion of the matter while residents waited.
When they returned, Superintendent Trinkle said, “I appreciate that feedback, and the district will look into that.”
School Board President Stephen Maund also said the board was open to further discussion of Gehman’s concerns.
“I, for one, agree with any sort of analysis on that subject matter,” he said.
The superintendent’s administration will discuss the issue internally, she said. An update will be provided at the next school board meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 27.
