THE WAYNESBORO SCHOOL BOARD ANNOUNCES REINSTATEMENT OF PRINCIPAL STEVEN PAPPAS, WITH ITS INTENT TO FOCUS ON HEALING AND REBUILDING TRUST, BUT CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD
By Robb Helfrick
The Waynesboro School Board announced on April 28 that the dispute between the School District and Steven Pappas had finally been resolved. After eight months of debate, four public hearings, two online petitions, several protest rallies, dozens of public comments at school board meetings, and one prior school board vote, Pappas was reinstated as Principal at Summitview Elementary. WASD had sought to demote the administrator to a teaching position.
The board’s long-awaited decision was read aloud at the school board meeting, which stated:
“We thank you for giving us the time that we needed as a board to be able to review all information and hear all sides. We recognize that the past months have been challenging for our school community. While personnel matters are handled appropriately and respectfully, we also understand the importance of moving forward together in a positive and unified way. Our shared priority remains providing a safe, supportive, and high-quality learning environment for every student.
At this time, an agreement has been reached, and Mr. Pappas will be reinstated effective July 1, 2026, at Summitview Elementary School. The parties are in the process of formalizing the terms of a comprehensive resolution to the matter. With this resolution, our focus is firmly on the future, on healing, rebuilding trust, and strengthening the relationship that makes our schools the place that we truly love.
We’d like to create an opportunity to sit down with our teachers and truly listen as a school board. We want to better understand your experiences, hear your thoughts, and learn how we can better support you in our schools. We are committed to maintaining our respectful and professional environment, where all voices are valued, and we work together as one school community. We are first-choice, we are borough strong, and we need to find that again. We hope that this is the first step in being the WASD that we love and care about. Thank you all.”
The initial reaction to WASD’s announcement at this regularly scheduled school board meeting was favorable. During public comments, several residents thanked the school board for reinstating Steven Pappas.
However, questions linger about how and when the reinstatement decision was reached and when final details of a WASD/Pappas agreement would be announced. Also, during the meeting, new allegations were presented to the school board.
The Pappas personnel matter began in September 2025, when the district notified the Summitview principal that it intended to demote him. WASD published a list of charges against Pappas on its public website.
Among those allegations were speaking to other teachers negatively about joining the teachers’ union, calling the cafeteria food “dog food” or “canned food,” not following protocol regarding removal of books from the library, being combative during interviews, and discussing his demotion process with other teachers after being told not to do so by WASD administrators.
Pappas was placed on administrative leave with pay, pending an investigation. Mark Klink was then appointed as acting Principal at Summitview.
After a Loudermill hearing was conducted, the school board voted 8-0 to demote Pappas during a November school board meeting- with one board member abstaining, citing insufficient information.
With the right to accept the demotion, request a private school hearing, or challenge the WASD’s action in a public forum, Pappas chose the latter.
As parents and citizens became aware of Pappas’ potential demotion, some stepped forward and organized a movement to help him retain his job.
Ashley Wilburn, parent of a middle school student, was one such Pappas advocate. Wilburn used the Change.org platform to sponsor an online petition that called for the principal’s reinstatement.
On that page, Wilburn expressed positive opinions about Pappas’ leadership during her daughter’s schooling at Summitview. After watching the public hearings, which totaled more than 20 hours of testimony, Wilburn, also an attorney, said she was “appalled by the lack of substantial evidence presented by the Superintendent.” To date, Wilburn’s petition has gathered 2061 signatures.
As the demotion process continued through the winter months, and blue signs to “#Reinstate Pappas” sprang up in local yards, Wilburn started a second petition. This action announced it had “No Confidence” in the leadership of WASD’s Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent.
Wilburn wrote that she was “deeply troubled” by the testimony and exhibits presented during the hearings. She said the situation “raised serious concerns about the manner in which the investigation, disciplinary process, and administrative actions were conducted by the district leadership.” That second Change.org petition has garnered 1220 signatures.
Meanwhile, as Mr. Pappas, students, their parents, and the public waited for a decision, the demotion proceedings were addressed during public comment periods at school board meetings, discussed between residents, and debated on social media. Three board members who voted for the Pappas demotion in November left the panel after their terms expired. A trio of newly elected School Board Directors took their place.
After the hearings concluded, both sides waited for a final transcript from those proceedings so they could submit final arguments to the board. While the public awaited the outcome, Patricia Strite, a Waynesboro School Board Director, expressed frustration at a March 10, 2026, meeting.
Strite remarked that she was getting “short-fused” regarding how the school district, administration, and other people in town were being degraded during the Pappas demotion process. “And this wrong information has just got to stop,” Strite said. “I, for one, will be very glad when this is over. Very disrespectful.”
On March 23, each side delivered a 54-page closing argument to the school board. The Pappas legal team concluded its statement by saying in part:
“The community undeniably rallied around Mr. Pappas notwithstanding the District’s thinly disguised crusade to disgrace and humiliate him.” The Pappas side claimed WASD piled on serious-sounding accusations, but they “fell apart like a house of cards when impartial witnesses took the stand.”
The Pappas defense asserted that the school board was “deliberately misled into believing the District and its administration had acted impartially, thoroughly, and in good faith.” They also claimed the information the district presented (which the board first voted upon) was “contrived, unreliable, and intentionally engineered to bring about a predetermined outcome.”
For those and other stated reasons, they argued that the board “must dismiss all the charges against Mr. Pappas and reinstate him as Summitview Elementary Principal.”
The Waynesboro Area School District’s administration countered with an opposing final opinion, saying in part:
“The administration has explained the reasons for the proposed demotion. The record contains sufficient evidence in support of those reasons. The reasons offered are proper and valid reasons for the proposed demotion.”
WASD argued that the record clearly cataloged Pappas’ history over the past decade. The district said he displayed a “repetitive cycle of unprofessional interactions, poor decision making, insubordination, and inadequate excuses.”
The school district also criticized the manner in which Pappas conducted his defense (while stating he had a right to defend himself) by saying his conduct during the hearings “speaks volumes not only to Pappas’ leadership qualities but also his character, and thus, his suitability to remain as a principal.”
In closing, WASD remained committed to carrying out the punishment they sought. “The Administration recommends that the School Board adopt the proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law stated herein and that Pappas be demoted to the position of teacher.”
In the days before the final verdict was announced at the April 28 meeting, School Board Director Strite resigned from the North End position. The remaining 8 board members will appoint a successor to fill that vacancy, with an abbreviated term lasting from May 2026 to November 2027. Interviews begin on May 11. Candidates must live in the North End voting district (Quincy/Mont Alto areas) to qualify, and they can apply online at the WASD website: wasd.k12.pa.us.
As Pappas supporters breathed a sigh of relief after the school board’s announcement, several citizens addressed the panel during the public comments period.
“A huge thank you to everyone who voted to reinstate him,” one woman said. “I think this is a massive step in restoring integrity and trust with all of us. I literally have chills, I’m so happy right now for our community. I’m happy for the Pappas family.”
The next speaker echoed that opinion. “As a community, we all know the right thing needed to be done,” she said. “I appreciate each of you who made that decision. This has not been easy on the community, and I’m sure it has not been easy on him.” (referring to Mr. Pappas)
The next speaker, a parent who lived in the school district, said every Waynesboro resident wanted their tax dollars to be spent wisely to educate its children. “Integrity is everything,” he said.
Then he asked the board to “imagine the anger I feel” when totaling the cost for the Pappas demotion process. He listed the Principal’s salary for an entire school year while suspended, his replacement’s salary, plus the school district’s legal fees, which he estimated at a combined $300,000.
“I’m not sure when the vote was done; it wasn’t done publicly,” he said about the board’s announced decision, which made no public references to the validity or insufficiencies of the charges brought against Mr. Pappas. “But I appreciate you having the integrity to admit you were wrong,” he said. “You wasted close to $300,000 of our money.”
Ashley Wilburn also spoke at the meeting after the announcement. As a passionate advocate for Pappas’ reinstatement, she thanked the board for its work. “I hope we can move forward,” Wilburn said, “but I still think there’s a lot of work left to do.”
Wilburn then announced she would run for the school board during the next election cycle (she doesn’t live in the recently vacated North End voting district, so is ineligible to fill Strite’s seat). “This experience has opened my eyes,” Wilburn said. She stated how it’s important to stand up and make public comments at school board meetings, but she wants to do more.
Wilburn also mentioned that the Facebook page, which supported Pappas and served as a public forum for other WASD policy issues, will remain active. She pledged to pursue improvements in the school system to encourage “smart choices and better decisions.”
The final speaker, Kathleen Dimino, spoke on behalf of the Concerned Citizens Group. After thanking the board for the Pappas reinstatement, she commented that her report needed to be given, but it carried a “heavier tone.” Dimino then read a list of nine allegations that the group wanted the school board to respond to and investigate.
Among this group’s concerns were issues related to the Pappas case. The first was an allegation that his work evaluation was deliberately altered to reflect negatively on his performance, thereby showing, in their opinion, a premeditated campaign to discredit Pappas.
Another issue that Dimino referenced was a prior child abuse allegation concerning a parent, when, according to the group, the district failed to observe mandated reporting protocol, which Pappas had urged them to follow.
A third issue presented to the board, unrelated to the Pappas case, was a student data breach when WASD consulted with an outside firm. All nine allegations were also submitted in writing to serve as a formal presentation to the school board.
This group’s submitted allegations add complexity to the panel’s already substantial responsibilities for traditional oversight. For the school board to achieve its stated goals of restoring unified and positive relationships between its teachers, parents, and administrators, it will face more challenges in the months ahead.
As the meeting concluded, recently elected School Board Director Lindsay Weaver (who serves as Treasurer and on the Personnel Committee) touched on some of the public frustrations and concerns expressed throughout the Pappas demotion debate.
As a new member of the panel, Weaver challenged her fellow board members by speaking bluntly. “Transparency is not optional,” Weaver said. “Accountability and trust are essential. We are in a pivotal moment for this district and the board.”
While Weaver mentioned she wasn’t a board member for the first 8-0 vote to demote Pappas, she would not shrink from her duties. “It’s my responsibility now, I won’t step back from that. We’re not sitting in these seats to go along with decisions; we are here to uphold standards.”
Weaver said mistakes are inevitable in life, but it was important to own up to them. “I’m disgusted by the lack of thorough investigation presented to this board from our administrators. I’m disappointed by how our administrators conducted themselves publicly during these hearings and how our past board members allowed this to be passed down without resolution. I am appalled by the example this sets for our teachers, our staff, and most importantly, for our children.”
Weaver said she wanted everyone involved in the Pappas demotion process to be held accountable. “I call on the board publicly to make a full and transparent review.” Weaver said she didn’t become a board member to “walk away without answers.” She referenced that a resolution negotiated behind closed doors didn’t benefit the public or the board.
Weaver stated that the purpose of accountability wasn’t to assign blame, but to restore trust and to avoid repeating mistakes. “We owe this district better, and we are still responsible for delivering it.”
