‘You’re breaking all of our hearts’: Parents, students push for answers from Penn-Trafford school board amid principal swaps

Nine-year-old Lillie Bouch stood before the Penn-Trafford School Board on Monday with more than 50 parents, students and teachers behind her.

Some attended the meeting to witness the board vote on a five-year contract for teachers and the 2024-25 district budget. But nine parents, students and a district employee came out to speak about the principal realignment, a shift of five longtime principals to different schools.

“I have a lot of questions about why this is happening,” said Bouch, a rising fourth grade student at Trafford Elementary. “My first question is why are you doing this when Mr. DiNapoli didn’t do anything wrong? You’re breaking all of the trust of all of our teachers, and you’re breaking all of our hearts.”

Dan DiNapoli has worked at Level Green Elementary for 16 years. For more than a decade, he was principal at both Level Green and Trafford elementary schools. This fall, he will move to Sunrise Elementary.

Karin Coiner, who taught at Sunrise for 17 years, was shifted to McCullough Elementary, and Jeff Swartz will serve at Level Green Elementary after 18 years at Harrison Park Elementary.

After 19 years at McCullough, Joe Marasti will be moved to Harrison Park. Amy Horvat, who was a high school principal for eight years, will lead Trafford Elementary.

Roger Sullivan will retain his position at Trafford Middle, which he has held for about 13 years. So will Penn Middle Principal Jim Simpson and high school principals Tony Aquilio and Greg Capoccioni.

The changes — announced in a letter emailed to parents April 16 — are meant to provide fresh leadership perspectives to each school and introduce another principal to the elementary and middle schools so that no administrator has to work at two schools, said Superintendent Matthew Harris.

Parents have spoken against the realignment at board meetings since May, raising concerns about the potential negative impacts of the changes and urging the board for answers.

Among those at Monday’s meeting was high school nurse Lisa Popovich.

Popovich said she was informed that Horvat would be leaving the high school in early March.

“That’s when all this began for me, because her leaving the high school impacts me greatly,” said Popovich, who has worked closely with Horvat to help students struggling with mental health concerns and seniors approaching graduation.

Popovich and Horvat created the high school’s Student Assistance Program, which was recognized in 2023 as the best program of its kind in the state. Popovich said Harris reassured her the district would find an equally-qualified replacement for Horvat.

Popovich encouraged the board to organize a meeting with parents to discuss the realignment in greater detail.

“When we had the pandemic, we straight up told people,” she said. “(Parents) all came to the school board meetings and they were all complaining, but we straight up told them ‘The reason we’re doing this is we’re following the mandates.’”

Popovich has been a nurse at Penn-Trafford for about 15 years. During that time, two of her children graduated from the district. She described herself as Penn-Trafford’s biggest fan, commending the board and the administration for their efforts to support students.

“I know the parents. I’m making phone calls all the time home with issues with their kids, trying to work with them for their medical issues. The parents that call me back and reply to emails, they’re the ones that care. They’re the ones that are here,” Popovich said. “All I’m asking is that we work with them, because I know that’s what we are.”

Amid requests for more information about the purpose of the realignment, parents proposed alternative solutions.

Brendon Mason suggested that better communication among the principals could generate new perspectives and ideas for schools to consider and implement.

“It seems like a pretty simple thing. If somebody has a good idea, then it should just be communicated,” Mason said. “Wouldn’t this be more effective and less invasive to the operations of each individual school within the district?”