SCRANTON, Pa. — Scranton School District Superintendent Melissa McTiernan announced in July 2023 that she was leaving for a job in the Philadelphia area.
McTiernan had been superintendent of Scranton schools since 2019.
A short time later, the school board announced business manager Patrick Laffey would run the district until the board settled on a new and permanent superintendent.
Several months of searching and interviewing are scheduled to end Monday when the board votes on McTiernan's successor.
That person will have a full agenda. The district is coming off years of money problems, problems so severe that the state was constantly looking over the district's shoulder. There has been persistent talk of closing schools and shifting students to different buildings.
Plus, something new popped up last month—a gang problem. We learned of that issue after Scranton Police Detective Kyle Gilmartin was shot in Scranton while investigating gang activity. Then, a gang member from Wilkes-Barre was spotted on his way to Scranton High School. He was armed and was allegedly out to seek revenge on members of a rival gang.
The Scranton School District is one of the largest in our area, with more than a dozen buildings and more than 9,000 students.