As longtime superintendent retires, what comes next for Penns Valley’s district?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Superintendent Brian Griffith will retire after nearly 20 years leading Penns Valley.
- The district will work with a search consultant to find its next chief administrator.
- He became superintendent in January 2008 after working as a math teacher and principal.
For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Penns Valley Area School District is about to have a new chief administrator.
Brian Griffith, the district’s longtime superintendent, will serve his final day in the role on Friday before retiring after nearly 20 years in the district’s top administrative role. His departure comes after 35 years working in education, more than half of which were spent in Penns Valley.
The district’s school board in March approved the hiring of the Williamsport-based BLaST Intermediate Unit 17 to assist in the ongoing search for Penns Valley’s next superintendent. The unit, whose name represents a play on its services to the Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan and Tiago county region, received an $8,500 contract from the district.
The exact timeline for finding the district’s next superintendent remains unclear.
Once Griffith ends his tenure, retired district official Sherri Connell will serve as Penns Valley’s interim superintendent. The longtime assistant superintendent, who served in that role for 17 years until October 2025, will receive a daily rate of $750 for her work following unanimous school board approval in March.
Griffith says goodbye
Griffith became Penns Valley’s superintendent in January 2008 after serving as the district’s assistant superintendent. He previously worked as a math teacher and principal before moving to the area.
The longtime superintendent received a contract extension in 2021 that made him the highest-paid school administrator in Centre County, whose other public school district superintendents are less experienced in their roles following significant turnover in recent years.
Griffith led Penns Valley’s district through several notable changes over the years, including the recent closure of Miles Township Elementary School. Under his watch, the district expanded what is now Penns Valley Elementary-Intermediate School, renovated Penns Valley Junior-Senior High School and Centre Hall Elementary School, and tore down the original school of the same name.
Just before his final day, Griffith reflected during a video interview on his time in Penns Valley. He thanked the district’s students, parents and community members for their devotion to the area’s public school system.
“To our faculty and staff, I want to say thank you,” Griffith said. “Truly the heart of Penns Valley, you make Penns Valley the best place to live and work. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart as superintendent, as a father and as a community member. Thank you all, and I wish you all the very best.”
While thinking back on his career, Griffith said perhaps nothing made him happier than seeing Penns Valley’s students excel. His own children came to the district as fourth- and sixth-grade students before graduating as Rams.
“Some of my best memories are when our students outperform other students academically,” he said in the interview. “The feedback we get from our college graduates, all of that is pretty uplifting.”
In addition to traveling with his wife, Griffith said he plans to continue his involvement with the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools following his retirement. He works part-time as the group’s assistant executive director and hopes to devote more energy to advocating for school policies that benefit rural students.
This story was originally published April 3, 2026 at 5:11 AM.
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