‘Been an honor.’ Centre County’s longest-serving superintendent plans to retire
The Penns Valley Area School District’s longtime superintendent plans to retire next year.
Brian Griffith, the district’s chief administrator, will retire effective April 3 following nearly two decades of service in his role. Penns Valley’s school board approved Griffith’s retirement without discussion as part of its consent agenda at its Wednesday meeting.
In a Nov. 24 letter to the district’s school board, Griffith said his time with Penns Valley marked “the most meaningful and fulfilling” years of his career in education.
“Serving this community, our students, our staff and our families has been an honor,” Griffith wrote. “I am grateful for the trust so many elected board members have placed in me throughout the years, and for the collaborative efforts that have led to meaningful progress for our schools.”
Griffith, who became Penns Valley’s superintendent in January 2008, will retire after working in education for more than 35 years as a math teacher, principal and administrator. He spent more than 21 years of his career with Penns Valley’s school district and previously served as its assistant superintendent.
Griffith received a contract extension in 2021 that put him on the district’s books through the end of the 2026-27 school year. He is the highest-paid school administrator in Centre County, whose other public school district superintendents are less experienced in their roles following significant turnover across the last few years.
Moving forward, Griffith said he is “fully committed” to supporting a smooth transition to new leadership for Penns Valley’s school district. In his letter to the school board, he wrote that he plans to work closely with its members to keep the district stable, ensure continuity and help in any way possible.
Outside of traveling with his wife, Griffith plans to continue his involvement with the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools following his retirement. He currently 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.
Griffith oversaw many significant changes and developments within Penns Valley’s school district across his tenure. More recently, the district completed comprehensive renovations to its high school and closed Miles Township Elementary School, its oldest school.
Griffith said nothing made him more proud as superintendent than seeing Penns Valley students outperform peer districts academically.
“It’s just a pretty special place, and that wasn’t all Brian’s doing,” he told the Centre Daily Times, referring to himself in the third person. “A lot of it is the devotion of our community with high expectations and how we hold ourselves accountable to that.”
The longtime superintendent credited Penns Valley’s students, faculty, staff and community for driving the district’s success over the years.
“To have the longevity I’ve had here at Penns Valley, the people who’ve surrounded me have made us very, very successful,” Griffith said. “I’ve been pretty darn blessed in my life and my career.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 9:57 AM.
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