Central Bucks’ former superintendent may lead a new district: ‘At what point did people think this guy is a good fit?’

Abram Lucabaugh, the former Central Bucks superintendent who abruptly resigned after Democrats swept the school board elections and who received a $700,000 payout from the outgoing Republican board, is facing new controversy over his potential appointment to lead a Berks County district.

The Oley Valley school board is considering hiring Lucabaugh as its interim superintendent, according to emails reported by the Bucks County Courier Times. Word of his consideration first appeared on social media and spurred outcry among Oley Valley community members objecting to his record in Central Bucks, where Lucabaugh backed bans on “sexualized content” in library books and teacher “advocacy,” including LGBTQ flags in classrooms.

Lucabaugh was “very divisive,” Christine Ulsh, who said she had spoken with Central Bucks teachers, told the Oley Valley school board during a meeting Wednesday. “There’s been a lot of inappropriate things going on, and I don’t think that’s what we need for Oley — regardless of price, regardless of politics.”

At the start of the meeting, Oley Valley board member Aaron Keller said the board was “simply interviewing candidates for interim superintendent. Those names were brought to us by the [intermediate unit].”

“Quite honestly, none of that should have been out in the public,” Keller said.

The Courier Times reported Wednesday that Lucabaugh was one of two apparent candidates to become interim superintendent of Oley Valley, a district outside Reading with 1,500 students and three schools. (Central Bucks, one of Pennsylvania’s largest districts, has more than 17,000 students and 23 schools.) The other candidate named was William McKay, a former superintendent of Governor Mifflin School District in Berks County.

According to the Courier Times, board member Candice Corle sent Lucabaugh an email on April 9 that read: “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.”

Lucabaugh — who was paid $315,000 a year in Central Bucks — requested a rate of $1,100 to $1,200 a day, according to the Courier Times, while McKay requested $1,100 a day.

In an email to the Inquirer on Thursday, McKay said that he met with Oley Valley board members last week for an interview, but after discussing the position “and doing some more research, I withdrew my name as a candidate.”

Oley Valley resident Rachel Winterstine told the board Wednesday that she had “stumbled upon” the emails about McKay and Lucabaugh through a right-to-know request she filed with the district, and then began to Google the candidates’ names.

With Lucabaugh, Winterstine said, she came upon “news headline after news headline” — noting the $1.75 million in legal fees Central Bucks paid Duane Morris under Lucabaugh’s tenure to investigate allegations of discrimination by the district against LGBTQ students, and Lucabaugh’s $700,000 separation agreement, awarded by Republicans in their last meeting before Democrats took over. The new board authorized a potential legal challenge to the agreement.

“At what point did people think this guy is a good fit?” Winterstine said, describing the Central Bucks board as surrounded by “embarrassment and chaos.”

Lucabaugh could not be immediately reached for comment.

Oley Valley board members — who did not respond to requests for comment — did not address criticism of Lucabaugh during Wednesday’s meeting. But several people who spoke during public comments expressed support for the board, accusing critics of trying to create controversy for political reasons.

Other residents, however, said the Oley Valley board was creating division. They cited the board’s recent vote to end a longstanding agreement with the Red Cross that had allowed the relief organization to use district buildings for temporary emergency shelter in the event of a disaster.

The Red Cross had never used the district’s schools, according to the Reading Eagle, but some board members voiced concern about the organization’s role in supporting migrants at the Southern border — with one accusing the Red Cross of facilitating “an invasion of the United States.”

Some Oley Valley board members have also been criticized for making anti-LGBTQ comments while questioning proposed protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. According to the Reading Eagle, two board members said they were concerned about the district hiring transgender teachers and said there were only two genders..