Berks County school district eyes former CBSD superintendent Abe Lucabaugh for interim job

Update: In an email Thursday, William McKay, the second candidate for the Oley Valley interim superintendent position said that he has withdrawn his name as a candidate after meeting with six school board members last week.

Central Bucks School District’s controversial former superintendent is under consideration for an interim superintendent job in a small Berks County school district, public documents show.

Abram Lucabaugh was criticized for his support of the former GOP majority school board’s conservative agenda which included policies restricting library materials based solely on sexual content and nudity and partisan classroom displays most notably Pride Flags.

His sudden departure in November less than a week after a new Democratic-majority board was elected with a more than $700,000 severance package inflamed community tension left raw from two years of deep division over culture wars.

The departure came four months after he was given an early, new five-year contract including a $90,000 raise, which boosted Lucabaugh’s pay to $315,000 a year.

Emails between Lucabaugh and recently elected member of the Oley Valley School District board Candice Corle dated earlier this month confirm that the Montgomery County resident is a one of two candidates under consideration.

William McKay is the other candidate for the post. He most recently served as superintendent of the Governor Mifflin School District, which has more than 4,100 students from 2020 until 2023. He currently works at Albright College in Berks County.

Lucabaugh was a 17-year employee of the Central Bucks School District and previously served as principal of CB East High School before he was appointed assistant superintendent in 2018.  He was appointed superintendent in 2021 and left the district in December 2023.

What kind of money is Lucabaugh seeking?

Lucabaugh requested a pay rate of $1,100 to $1,200 per day, according to the emails. McKay requested a rate of $1,100 a day.

In an April 9, 2024 email to Lucabaugh, Corle wrote: “I wanted to reach out to you after receiving your information from the BCIU to potentially support our school district through a transition  period and potentially further. We recently received the resignation of our superintendent and we are looking for someone with your experience.”

Oley Valley is among the smallest districts in Pennsylvania with just under 1,500 students, three schools and 116 full-time equivalent teachers.

What happened to the last Oley Valley Superintendent?

Gina Finnerty submitted her resignation last month to take a job as director of human resources in the Quakertown School District starting June 1, according to the Reading Eagle. She has been superintendent in Oley Valley for roughly one year.

Finnerty’s resignation takes effect May 27.  The interim superintendent job is not listed on the Oley Valley School Board agenda posted online for the April 17 meeting.

Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Is Lucabaugh the next superintendent at Berks County’s Oley Valley?