Nazareth schools superintendent leaving after 2 years

The Nazareth Area School Board has hired its third superintendent in four years, and its first female schools chief.

Richard Kaskey, who has been superintendent a little more than two years, is on administrative leave until Oct. 15, according to an automatic reply on his district email message. After that, he will depart the district, which is one of the largest in the Lehigh Valley with nearly 5,000 students.

The school board voted 8-0 Tuesday night to accept Kaskey’s resignation and approve hiring Isabel C. Resende as the new superintendent. Board member Melinda Gladstone left the meeting before the vote was taken.

Resende, who has been assistant superintendent more than 10 years, takes over Oct. 16.

“I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the school board with entrusting me with this incredible opportunity to serve the community,” Resende said. She declined to take questions.

Kaskey’s paid administrative leave began Aug. 5. No reason has been given for his departure. Board President Linda G. Stubits read a statement saying school directors and Kaskey “have mutually agreed to part ways,” and she thanked Kaskey for his “dedicated service and leadership.”

“The school board and Dr. Kaskey feel that a seamless, organized transition is in the best interest of the district’s students, staff and community,” Stubits said. She said Resende will assume many of the day-to-day responsibilities of superintendent to ensure a “smooth return to school” for everyone.

Resende’s contract will run about five years, until May 15, 2029, according to the board. Officials declined to release specifics of financial terms Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, after The Morning Call submitted an open-records request, the district said Kaskey’s salary was $183,005 as of July 1. In addition, his five-year contract provides for a six-month severance if both sides agree to end the deal with more than a year left on the contract.

The five-year contract was due to expire June 30, 2027. With the current salary, Kaskey’s severance amounts to approximately $91,500.

Resende’s salary beginning Oct. 16 will be $205,000, according to district records. Online records put her annual pay at $151,625 in 2023, but she also received increases.

Kaskey, who did not return messages seeking comment, replaced superintendent Dennis Riker, who retired about one year after being hired in 2021.

Only two residents spoke during public comment, with both congratulating Resende.

Thomas McElroy thanked Kaskey for his service but said, “I’d be hard pressed to say I’m sorry that he’s going.”

McElroy said away from the meeting that Kaskey didn’t live up to his resume and was less than helpful in McElroy’s effort to bring a Junior ROTC group to the district, which he said would help students learn respect and discipline.

Resende, McElroy said, “seems a little more receptive to maybe new ideas and pushing them forward.”

Kaskey became pulled into a controversy regarding the book “ Push,” which some parents challenged for containing explicit content. “Push” is about an illiterate, Harlem teenager who is physically and sexually abused by her parents, but who is empowered when she is taught how to write about her life by a teacher.

Kaskey recommended last fall that the book remain in the high school library, as did a district staff committee, which recommended access to it be restricted for the child of at least one parent who questioned its dissemination.

In April, the board voted 5-4 to keep the book in the district’s collection.

Resende has worked in Nazareth Area for nearly 16 years, according to her LinkedIn profile. She holds education degrees and license certificates from East Stroudsburg, Lehigh and Moravian universities.

School Director Christopher G. Miller said Resende becomes the district’s first female superintendent, and that note drew applause from the audience.

Kaskey left his post in 2022 as assistant superintendent at the Susquehanna Township School District in Dauphin County, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com .