HOLLIDAYSBURG — Curtis A. Whitesel was approved as the new superintendent of the Hollidaysburg Area School District during a Wednesday night board meeting.

Whitesel, who is currently superintendent of Bald Eagle Area School District and a 25-year education administration veteran, is contracted with the district until 2029.

Whitesel has previously served as principal for the Mount Union Area High School, superintendent of schools for the Homer-Center School District and as superintendent for the Bald Eagle Area School District over a 25-plus-year career. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education at Shippensburg University.

Whitesel only began his stint at Bald Eagle in October 2022 on a five-year contract, but when asked about any concerns about him leaving before the end of his new agreement with Hollidaysburg, school board president Carmen Bilek said the board had “none at all.”

“I think he is a very good fit for the community,” Bilek said. “He’s a very people person and he brings all the qualifications to the position that we need.”

Whitesel will begin his tenure at Hollidaysburg in April, with a contract through March 2029. More information on Whitesel’s salary will be released at a later date, Bilek said.

Darren McLaurin will continue as acting superintendent until Whitesel assumes the position.

In other business, the district accepted a bid from California-based technology company ParentSquare Inc. for a three-year contract to supply a parent and student digital messaging platform for the district.

The program will allow school administrators — and individual teachers — to directly communicate with parents about snow days, grades and other announcements. HASD director of technology Justin Arthur contacted ParentSquare after experiencing difficulties with the previous messaging service employed by the district, Remind.

According to Arthur, Remind changed their terms in 2023, and unexpectedly sent the district a bill for $10,000 to continue using their previously free service. This incident, alongside a number of other issues caused by the patchwork of other communications platforms used by teachers, drove Arthur to seek out a new, comprehensive solution to address the mounting challenges.

While the first six months of the service will be free, according to the meeting agenda, ParentSquare will change the district approximately $1,550 a month for the remainder of the contract period.

The ParentSquare messaging platform is expected to begin onboarding later this year, with full adoption anticipated by the start of the 2024-25 academic year, according to Arthur.

Daniel Bradley of Young, Oakes, Brown and Co. also delivered an update on the district’s finances after an extensive audit of HASD assets, bonds and debt service arrangements conducted in 2023.

“You didn’t have any (non-compliance) findings this year, and that is a tribute to your administration and a tribute to your staff,” Bradley said.

The board will next meet on Feb. 7.

Mirror Staff Writer Conner Goetz is at 814-946-7535.