Residents Blast MASD Board Behavior

‘I feel they’re guilty and they know what they’re doing’

By Adam Reinherz
The Tube City Almanac
September 06, 2024
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

McKeesport Area School District’s treatment of outgoing Superintendent Tia Wanzo was raised again during Thursday’s open agenda meeting. Parents and residents expressed dismay — and at points contempt — with the board and Solicitor Gary Matta’s handling of personnel.

A separation agreement between Wanzo and MASD signed on Aug. 22 states the parties will not “disparage” the other.

Nonetheless, during Thursday’s meeting McKeesport resident Bridget Truss accused director Diane Elias of making “disparaging comments” toward Wanzo on social media on Aug. 23, merely one day after the separation agreement was signed.  

“You deleted the comment but I have screenshots,” Truss said. “You said and I quote, ‘I refuse to support our children being put in danger.’ But that was when somebody stated their support of Dr. Wanzo, so you are alluding that Dr. Wanzo's presence in the position of superintendent is jeopardizing our children's lives.”

“That is your opinion,” Matta said. “That is your conjecture.”

When Truss asked Elias to respond, Matta replied, “She will not be answering her question this evening. I will be answering the question…This is a legal matter and I handle the legal matters for this school district.”

The comment was not “derogatorily” made, Matta continued. “When the superintendent's attorney contacted me and felt that it was, I contacted Miss Elias and asked her to remove that. And she did, even though it was not directed to be derogatory towards Dr. Wanzo.”

Following the meeting, Truss said she remained bothered by the interaction and lack of acknowledgement.

“You know what you did. You know you went on Facebook and violated the confidential agreement and spoke ill. And now, instead of saying, ‘Yeah, I violated it.’ It's like, ‘I was told to take it down,’” Truss said.

The McKeesport resident described the district’s behavior as “sidestepping.”

“I feel they’re guilty and they know what they’re doing,” she said.

McKeesport resident Christine Robison said she remained disappointed by the district’s recent evasiveness, especially during last week’s meeting: “I watched and listened as you answered questions. And you let us know what we were allowed to hear, what you were allowed to answer, and what you weren't, when you knew that everybody here wanted to know what was going on with Dr. Wanzo.”

Robison took issue with Matta’s failure to share Wanzo’s statement during last week’s meeting.

“You adjourned the meeting. You let the board members walk out the back door. You let many people leave, and then you stop and say, ‘Oh, I forgot I have this statement I need to read,’ and it was exactly what everybody was asking,” Robison said.

“You want us to think that you're doing things up front and above board, but that is questionable behavior,” she said. “It leaves all of us to wonder what is going on. If you want us to believe that you are moving forward with what needs to happen with Dr. Wanzo in a decent manner, then you should be acting in a decent manner.”

“I do apologize for not reading it. There was a lot of things going on that evening, and I did not get to do that, and that was something that I own,” Matta said.

Retired Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Baldwin used Thursday’s hearing of citizens to revisit comments made during last week’s meeting.

On Aug. 30, Baldwin questioned the district’s June hiring of Matthew Mols, a former assistant principal and director of the Career & Technology Center at McKeesport Area High School, as assistant to the superintendent at an annual salary of $130,000.

Mols lacks requisite certification to serve as superintendent so the timing of his’ recruitment is puzzling, Baldwin said.

If Mols was unable to take the superintendent’s position — as evidenced by the district’s Aug. 23 hiring of William Pettigrew as acting superintendent at a rate of $650 per day, $100 per week for expenses and $110 per month for cell phone expenses — why would the district enter an agreement with Mols, Baldwin asked.

“Why would we hire a person in that position without the certification to take the superintendent's position when the board was aware there were issues concerning the superintendent and there might be a suspension or termination?” she said.

Baldwin said she was “assured” that Mols was hired prior to the board’s knowledge of “those issues.”

However, after researching MASD minutes, the McKeesport resident discovered the law firm of Dillon, McCandless, King, Coulter & Graham was hired as special counsel to conduct an investigation on April 11.

“The board had to be aware that there were issues when they hired Mr. Mols without the proper certifications to become an assistant to the superintendent on June 6, two months later,” Baldwin said.

Following the meeting, Baldwin said MASD deliberately refused to answer her questions.

“The fact is, they could have answered them if they chose to, but they didn't,” she said. “I think what's most important is for us as an informed citizenry to think about what's happening. We have to stand up for our children. They don't have voices.”

It’s the directors who vote, not the students, she continued. “So the fact is, it's really important to think about where is the money going. How can it be better used for our children? That's imperative.”

Adam Reinherz is a Pittsburgh-based writer. He can be reached at adam.reinherz@gmail.com.

Originally published September 06, 2024.

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