Group protests outside meet and greet with candidate for Centennial School District

Group holds protest outside meet and greet with Centennial School District candidate

Members of the group, Concerned Citizens of Centennial School District, held a protest outside a meet and greet with the candidate for the district's superintendent finalist.

WARMINSTER, Pa. - A battle is brewing in Bucks County as community members of the Centennial School District are making their voices heard about a controversial candidate for superintendent.

What we know:

Thursday night’s meeting began with an overview of the search process in which the board says it enlisted the help of the Bucks County Intermediate Unit at no cost.

Officials say there were 32 applications from Pennsylvania and seven other states.

An online survey was created. Officials say more than 250 parents, guardians, staff, students and community members responded.

Thursday night Dr. Abram Lucabaugh answered some of those questions from the survey about his past and his intentions for the Centennial School District.

Lucabaugh was the superintendent of Central Bucks School District.

What they're saying:

"The process of screening him and apparently deciding to hire him is getting less and less transparent as the days and weeks go on," said Nancy Pontius. She is part of a peaceful protest outside Log College Middle School ahead of a meet and greet with the finalist for superintendent of the Centennial School District.

"We are still hoping that the board, our school board, will listen to our community. We do not want Dr. Abram Lucabaugh as our next superintendent," said Pontius.

Members of the group Concerned Citizens of Centennial School District are unhappy with the search process and Dr. Lucabaugh as the finalist. He was previously the superintendent of Central Bucks School District.

"There was no chance for parent or teacher groups to have input during the interview process," said Nicole Lynch who is a parent.

Dig deeper:

Thursday night, Lucabaugh responded to some of those pre-selected questions which involved, to name, a few lawsuits and his controversial departure from Central Bucks in 2023 when he resigned and received a $700,000 severance, his alleged anti-LGBTQ+ policies and his stance on limiting books available to students.

Lucabaugh blamed a divisive board, saying, "When you allow politics to become more important than what is best for students and when you allow political ideology to surpass educational propriety, problems emerge." He was also asked about restoring public confidence and establishing credibility coming to Centennial.

"I have to be talking to people; I have to be listening and listening with intention. I have to be accessible and understand how things work and the communities’ priorities," he said.