Former Bradford Area School District superintendent Dr. Michael
Slavinski has been placed on paid administrative leave from his new
position at Moshannon Valley School District in Houtzdale.

The measure was approved at a school board meeting April 30 and
was retroactive to April 17 pending an investigation into his
conduct, board solicitor Aimee Willett told area newspapers. There
was no indication given as to the reason for the leave or how long
it might last.

Allegations have surfaced in the Clearfield County newspaper,
The Progress, regarding submissions Slavinski has made to the
school newsletter The KnightLine at Moshannon Valley school.

The Progress compared Slavinski’s submissions to an article that
was written by Jay Matthews for The Washington Post – the article
reads verbatim in sections. Another submission by Slavinski was
scrutinized and was very similar to an article which had run in Phi
Delta Kappan in 1994.

Moshannon district officials would not comment on the
allegations of plagiarism or whether the allegations had anything
to do with Slavinski’s administrative leave.

Officials there are as tight-lipped as BASD officials were three
years ago – and remain today – regarding the circumstances
surrounding Slavinski.

Slavinski resigned from Bradford schools in 2004, but it became
effective Jan. 20, 2005. Sources close to the situation at the time
told The Era that district solicitor Christian Mattie III was
investigating alleged complaints from within the district.

When contacted Tuesday regarding the status of that
investigation, Mattie would not even confirm such an investigation
took place.

“I do not discuss employee matters, so I have no information to
provide you,” Mattie said. “I don’t know where you had gotten that
information (regarding the investigation), but it wasn’t from
me.”

Bob Tingley, who served as president of the Bradford Area School
District Board of Education at the time Slavinski worked for the
district, would not comment on the former superintendent’s
resignation either.

“Because of the legal entanglements with his resignation, I
cannot discuss that. I would be wrong to discuss that.”

Regarding the allegations against Slavinski, Tingley would say
only, “We had concerns. I’m not at liberty to discuss it.”

Slavinski started at BASD on June 1, 2003, replacing retiring
superintendent Cheri O’Mara. He was immediately preceded by Bruce
Hare, who had served in the interim.

Slavinski resigned from the Bradford district in early 2005.
While there was no date immediately available as to when he began
at Moshannon Valley, it appears he may have started there in
mid-2005.