Aug 25, 2017 By Jacob Calvin Meyer 4 min read

South Fayette Superintendent Bille Rondinelli’s retirement now has an official date.

Rondinelli, who just began her ninth school year as South Fayette’s superintendent, will retire Jan. 2. The school board approved the retirement date at its Aug. 15 meeting.

School board President Leonard Fornella said the process for hiring Rondinelli’s replacement is “on schedule.”

In its meeting Aug. 22, following a two-and-a-half-hour executive session, the board approved to raise Rondinelli’s salary 3.75 percent “based upon the evaluation of her performance in 2016-17,” Fornella said. Rondinelli’s annual salary will increase from $180,000 to $186,750, about half of which she will receive due to her retirement.

The meeting date also marked the first day of school for the district. The start of school was originally scheduled for Aug. 21, but the board voted during its Aug. 15 meeting to suspend the start one day due to safety concerns of the solar eclipse. The vote passed 5-1 last week, with Alan Vezzi voting no.

Regardless of the start date, Rondinelli said the high school construction was completed by the start of school, aside from “punch list items that you would have in any major construction project” to be completed through October.

“I would really like to compliment our maintenance and custodial people, because they did just an extraordinary job in getting the entire campus ready to go,” Rondinelli said. “It was a very heartwarming day today to see our students come into the high school.”

Kristen Davis, the board’s student representative and a senior at South Fayette High School, said amid inevitable confusion from students about the location of their classes, the general vibe from was positive. Every student in the high school received a tour of the new layout during his or her social studies class Tuesday.

“I think it’s going to be a good foundation for everyone to utilize,” Davis said. “There’s a lot of good spaces now, and I think, for teachers and students, it’s going to be a really nice environment to learn in.”

Rondinelli added the school district’s official enrollment at the start of the school year is 3,264, with two more students joining this week. The number is just another increase in the ballooning enrollment for the district, which had a little more than 3,100 students last year. Since having an enrollment just south of 2,000 in 2005-06, the district has since grown 64.7 percent to its current capacity.

Also during the meeting, the board voted to provide transportation for the girls’ and boys’ lacrosse teams as well as the junior varsity and varsity hockey teams. Athletic Director Mark Keener presented the projected cost of travel to the board prior to its vote. In the past, the district has not provided transportation for those teams, which Keener said have longer travel times than the more popular sports.

The price for the school year for both programs would be $10,578, with the condition that neither program would be given the $2,000 contribution they’ve received in the past.

“I think the biggest thing is we’re trying to make sure it’s safe,” said board member Paul Brinsky.

The vote passed 6-1, with Todd Petrillo voting no for “budgetary reasons.”

“I don’t like spending money,” he said. “The budget is too tight.”

The board also directed district administration to begin advertising for a full-time public relations position at the district.

During its meeting last week, the board approved the hirings of two full-time school teachers and two paraeducators. Julia Salvadore and Nicole Bianco were hired to fill slots in kindergarten and sixth grade, respectively. Patricia Campanella and Colleen Cuba were hired as paraeducators in the Intermediate School and the Elementary School, respectively.

Before the South Fayette football team’s home opener Sept. 8, the school will host its annual “Senior, Senior Night” for seniors at the high school and senior citizens in the community. Residents will be able to tour the newly renovated high school from 4-6:30 p.m. before kickoff at 7 p.m. Then, on Sept. 9 at 10 a.m., the high school will be rededicated and tours will also be open for residents.