Dr. Roseann Nyiri is leaving her position as superintendent of the Franklin Regional School District to take the same post at a district in a Philadelphia suburb.
The School District of Springfield Township in Montgomery County hired Nyiri to replace Dr. William Leary. Leary is retiring June 28 after 10 years as Springfield Township superintendent. Springfield Township board President Margaret Deardorff said Nyiri was selected from some 25 to 27 applicants, seven of whom received at least one interview.
Springfield Township has 2,100 students and is located on Philadelphia's northwest border. The district has a high school, middle school and two elementary schools. The town of some 19,600 residents covers six square miles.
Nyiri said she still has to go through the formalities of having her resignation accepted by the Franklin Regional School Board, and she is awaiting her contract with Springfield Township. The pact will run for four years with a salary of $130,000 the first year.
Nyiri's contract with Franklin Regional runs through 2004 with a salary of $102,500 for the current school year.
Nyiri said it was a good time to make a move in her life and she has been impressed with Springfield Township.
"I've been told this is an outstanding district and a place where I would enjoy working," Nyiri said. "It's a similar community to Franklin Regional. There's a lot of initiatives they have that are just beginning, and I can be a part of them. It's real exciting."
Leary said he is "totally confident" the district is being left in good hands. The pair had a chance to meet when Nyiri visited the district in May.
"I think she's a good fit for our district." Deardorff said, adding that the board came away from the interviews very impressed with Nyiri. "She's a competent and seasoned administrator. They're big shoes to fill, and we just felt comfortable she'll be able to do it. We were interested in somebody who can be an educational leader and understands the educational side as well as the business side of a school district. She has strength in curriculum, in developing personnel and in communication. She's got a way of drawing the community together."
Nyiri admits she wrestled with the decision of leaving a district she has been with since 1988 in various capacities, including serving as superintendent since 1999.
"This has been a wonderful experience for me," Nyiri said. "I have found this community accepting and welcoming. Parents have been wonderful and supportive. The staff is outstanding and the administrative team works together like a well-oiled machine. Because of all that, I think we're an excellent district. I'm going to take so many good memories with me."
Nyiri said she hopes to stay at Franklin Regional through July and plans to start at Springfield in August. "I want to leave everything in good order."
Her husband, Les, who is the mental illness substance abuse coordinator for Allegheny County, will remain in western Pennsylvania until the house is sold. Then he will look for a job in the eastern portion of the commonwealth. The couple have a daughter, Jennifer, who is a student at Point Park College.
Franklin Regional School Board President Deborah Good said the task at hand will be to find a replacement for Nyiri. She did say the district can have a person in the position of acting superintendent for one year. An acting superintendent is not required to have superintendent's certification.
Since the search for a replacement has not begun, Good said an "acting superintendent may be the way to go."
Good spoke highly of the outgoing superintendent. "She has been with this school district for 14 years and has always given it her all."
Nyiri joined Franklin Regional in 1988 as assistant principal at Heritage Elementary School. She was promoted to principal in 1991, director of pupil and personnel services in 1995, and assistant superintendent in 1997. She became superintendent in 1999, replacing Dr. Lee Rieck, who moved to Chicago to take a superintendent's position in the West Chicago School District.
She holds a bachelor's degree in education from Clarion University and a master's degree and a doctorate in educational leadership from Duquesne University.
During her tenure as Franklin Regional superintendent, Nyiri said there were several accomplishments of which she is proud.
One that stands out was the transition that took place at the district's buildings in her first year on the job. It was at that time that ninth-graders were moved to the high school, sixth-graders to the middle school and all three elementary schools were made K-5.
Nyiri also took pride in the district's development of a comprehensive plan during this school year and it's digital school initiative.
"That really brought everybody in the community together in recognizing the importance of technology in education," Nyiri said. "I think we've done a lot in three years."
