Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet Resigning

PITTSBURGH, PA — Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet, recently cited by the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission for various violations, will resign effective Oct. 1. School board solicitor Ira Weiss and board president Sylvia Wilson made the announcement Tuesday at a hastily called news conference on Wednesday.

Wilson said school directors did not force the resignation. She termed Hamlet's impending departure "unfortunate but necessary."

“This course of action creates an opportunity to remain focused on providing quality education for district students while eliminating unrelated distractions," she said.

Hamlet will be paid $399,000 as he exits, an amount equal to one year's salary and the value of his benefits. The payment keeps the district in compliance with the state school code.

An interim superintendent will be named on Sept. 29. School directors will begin the search for a new superintendent in December. Wilson said the district is waiting until then to start looking for a permanent successor to Hamlet because new school directors will be seated on the board then.

Hamlet has been superintendent since July 2016. School directors last year extended his contract through June 2025.

“For the past five years, it has been my distinct honor and pleasure to serve in Pittsburgh as your superintendent," Hamlet stated in his resignation letter.

"After much thought and consideration and because, in light of current circumstances, I think it
is presently the best thing for our students and families, I believe that now is the time for my tenure to come to an end and to embark upon a new chapter of my professional life."

The ethics commission last month ruled that Hamlet violated several provisions of the state Ethics Act. He was ordered to repay more than $8,750 in restitution and investigative costs and forfeit 14 vacation days worth more than $12,000 in salary.

In a 147-page decision, the ethics commission ruled that Hamlet improperly received reimbursements for travel expenses that already had been paid by the district and that he improperly carried over and used vacation and personal days for himself from one year to the next in violation of his contract and accepted honoraria in recognition of appearances, speeches and presentations directly related to his position as superintendent.

The ethics commission also found deficiencies in Hamlet's financial interest statements in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

The panel noted that Hamlet denies have committed another Ethics Act violation by accepting a trip with The Flying Classroom, which did business with the district. The trip was not part of the district's contract with the company.

But Hamlet agreed enough circumstantial evidence exists against him in taking the trip that a fact finder could be convinced an Ethics Act violation occurred.

Hamlet initially asserted that the ethics commission findings vindicated him, saying the ruling lacked "findings of intent to deceive the families, my staff and the taxpayers of Pittsburgh."

"This two-year inquiry has been a cloud on my head, a heavy burden on my shoulders even though I know I have done nothing wrong," Hamlet said the day the ruling was released. "With this review behind me, it looks like a fresh start."

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