Knoch School District looks to fill vacancy at primary school
As the students of Knoch Primary School head into summer vacation, the school district is scrambling to find a new permanent principal before the next school year kicks off.
The previous principal, Gregory Mandalas, submitted his retirement papers and officially is no longer working with the school district as of Wednesday, June 7. In late May, state police charged Mandalas with failing to report an act of child abuse as a mandated reporter, in relation to an incident from August 2022 involving Mandalas’ 19-year-old son, Matthew.
Under Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law, Mandalas, as a school employee, was legally obligated to report any suspected acts of child abuse immediately.
“The position of Knoch Primary School principal will be posted today, and we will make every effort to have a principal in place and ready to welcome your students back for the start of the 2023-24 school year,” superintendent David Foley said last week in a letter to parents, which was obtained by the Butler Eagle.
In an interview with the Eagle, Knoch School District solicitor Tom Breth reiterated that Mandalas’ departure was voluntary, not forced, and added that Mandalas received no compensation or severance package for his departure.
“The board faced a very difficult situation,” Breth said. “(The child abuse charge) was unrelated to the school district, except for the fact that the situation involved Mr. Mandalas, who was serving as the primary school principal.”
Eric Eshbach, executive director of the Pennsylvania Principals Association, said school administrators such as Mandalas are given ample instruction as to the importance of the “mandatory reporter law” as well as instruction on how to fulfill that duty whenever necessary.
"Act 126 of 2012 requires that all school districts must provide child abuse recognition and reporting training to all employees who have direct contact with children,“ Eshbach said. ”Those employees must complete a minimum of three hours of training every five years. A school principal must go through that training.“
In the days following Mandalas’ charges, the Knoch School District placed him under administrative leave with pay and brought in a replacement. Former South Butler assistant superintendent Rick Cavett came out of retirement to serve as acting principal for the remainder of the school year, and still holds that position pending the naming of a permanent principal.
However, Eshbach said Knoch could face difficulties finding new principal, due to market forces.
“In terms of finding a principal, the role of building principals has not escaped the current educator shortage,” Eshbach said. “However, depending on the region of the state, the pool of candidates can be deep or it can be shallow. We see most school districts being able to fill positions over the summer months in preparation for the start of the new school year.”
Mandalas is awaiting a preliminary hearing in Chicora on June 27.
Breth reiterated that Mandalas will not be setting foot in any district building again.
“He’s no longer the principal, and he’ll never work for the school district again,” Breth said. “But I don’t know about other school districts. It all depends on how they resolve the criminal charges.”
