Residents raise concerns about top candidate for superintendent of Centennial School District

WARMINSTER, Pa. (WPVI) -- The hiring of a new superintendent is causing a stir in the Centennial School District in Bucks County.

The current superintendent, Dana Bedden, said his last day on the job is June 30.

On May 27, the Centennial School District Board of School Directors will vote on an employment agreement with Dr. Abram Lucabaugh to serve as their next superintendent.

"We didn't just pick him out of the air. He rose to the top," said Mary Alice Brancato, president of the Centennial School Board.

However, many parents and community members attended the school board's regular meeting on Tuesday to voice their concerns about Dr. Lucabaugh.

"The word is out and people are here to say, 'We do not want this in our school district,'" said Nancy Pontius, a Centennial parent and head of the group 'Concerned Citizens of Centennial School District.'

Adam Mathis, another parent in the district, said, "Our focus should be on the students, and this is clearly a distraction from all of that."

Lucabaugh was most recently the superintendent of the Central Bucks School District. He was given a $700,000 severance package when he resigned from that role in November 2023, just days after the school board changed hands from Republican to Democratic control.

Some attendees at Tuesday's meeting in Warminster voiced concerns about Lucabaugh's departure from Central Bucks. They also pointed to a federal complaint filed by the ACLU against the Central Bucks School District during Lucabaugh's reign. That complaint accused the district of discriminating against LGBTQ+ students.

"I don't think those policies have any place in our district for our children and teachers here," Nicole Lynch, a Centennial parent from Southampton, said. "This district, to date, has been very supportive and inclusive of all children. I'm scratching my head trying to figure out what has changed that led us to this point."

Several Centennial School Board members, including Tony Sadowski, voiced concerns about the hiring of Lucabaugh during Tuesday's school board meeting.

"I have questions that are unanswered about the candidate, and I hope we get those addressed before we cast a vote," Sadowski told Action News.

School Board President Brancato said the process of hiring a new superintendent has been fair, pointing to a survey completed by 254 community members.

However, many parents, like Pontius, questioned that process.

"We have 5,000 students in the district, so 254 is not indicative of what the community is actually looking for," Pontius said.

Brancato said she is confident that what happened at Central Bucks won't happen at Centennial.

"We have a very diverse community. We always have and we always will. We're not Central Bucks," she said.

With a vote on his appointment still pending, Dr. Lucabaugh already shared a statement with the Centennial community.

Part of that statement reads, "The opportunity to serve as your next superintendent in Centennial is a privilege and an honor, and I would like to thank the Centennial Board of School Directors for their faith in me. We have important work ahead of us, and I'm confident that together, we can build an environment of excellence where every student has access, opportunity and choice to become the best version of themselves," he said.

The Centennial School Board is set to hold a community forum about Lucabaugh's appointment on Thursday, May 22. They will then vote on the matter the following Tuesday, May 27.