Centennial School Board approves controversial superintendent in 5-4 vote
WARMINSTER, Pa. (WPVI) -- In a vote of 5 to 4, the Centennial School Board approved Dr. Abram Lucabaugh to be the next superintendent of the district during a meeting Tuesday night.
"This is devastating for our community in my eyes," Jane Lynch, a Centennial School Board member who opposed Lucabaugh's hiring, told Action News after the vote.
"I hoped that the community input would change things and that people would see it differently, but apparently that didn't work," she added.
Even before the vote, Lynch asked Lucabaugh to withdraw from the superintendent search. However, he was not in attendance at the school board meeting.
Meanwhile, Mary Alice Brancato, the school board president who voted "yes" to hire Lucabaugh, said, "We are not Central Bucks. We care about our kids here."
Lucabaugh is the former superintendent of the Central Bucks School District. He was given a $700,000 severance payout when he resigned from that role in November of 2023, just days after the school board flipped from Republican to Democrat control.
Over the past few weeks, some Centennial parents have expressed concern about the money they say Lucabaugh cost Central Bucks. They have also said they are worried about a federal complaint filed by the ACLU during his time there, accusing the district of discrimination against LGBTQ+ students.
"Someone asked me what I would do if he discriminated against a gay child," Brancato said. "I would hold his feet to the fire myself. Every child in our school district is great. We care about every kid."
Almost an hour of public comment led up to the vote, with the majority of people expressing concern about this pick for superintendent.
Nancy Pontius, a Centennial parent, spoke with Action News after the vote.
"They said, 'keep politics out of the schools,' and we heard from numerous public commenters tonight that hiring Lucabaugh is inviting politics into your school district."
While Lucabaugh was not at Tuesday's meeting, he did previously state that he is committed to building an environment where all students in the Centennial School District can thrive.
The outgoing superintendent's last day on the job is June 30.
