After nearly 60 minutes of discussion behind closed doors on who will lead the Bellwood-Area School District, school officials elected a former Altoona man for the superintendent’s position, soon to be vacated by retiring Dr. Rodney Kuhns.
According to district business manager, Ken Swanson, the vote was unanimous, 8-0. Board member Linda Cherry was not present for the vote.
“I am looking forward to the opportunity to become an active part of the Bellwood-Antis school family and community and return home to Central PA,” said Toth in a press release offered to The Daily Herald. “I am ready to serve the district and community in the capacity of Superintendent.
“The ‘Pride, Excellence and Tradition’ of Bellwood-Antis will progress to the next level and maintain a student and community centered approach.”
The decision to hire a new district leader came after Dr. Kuhns officially announced his retirement in October. His salary will be $90,000 and the effective date is Aug. 11.
According to Swanson, the board decided in December to use the services of IU8 for the hiring process. There was no cost to the district for this service, according to Swanson, except for costs associated with advertising.
He said all applications received by the district were sent to Dr. Michael Dillon of the IU8. An initial round of screenings were done and the qualifying applicants were selected for an initial interview process.
“Dr. Dillon then conducted a survey of the school board members to find out what type of superintendent they needed,” said Swanson. “Through this, Dr. Dillon learned where to place emphasis as the hiring process continued.”
After the initial interviews, Dr. Dillon came back to the board and gave summaries of the initial screenings and interviews to the members. Five candidates were recommended and the pool was eventually narrowed to three.
These candidates were asked to come to B-A for a site visitation. More interviews were then conducted.
Finally, the last name appearing from the pool was that of Toth. Members visited his current site of employment as director of human resources for the Chartiers Valley School District, conducted more interviews, then made an offer.
Toth began his teaching career in the Altoona/Johntown Parochial School system in 1983 at Sacred Heart School. He also taught at St. Mary’s School and Bishop Carroll High School. Additionally, he taught mathematics courses for ten years at Mount Aloysius College and was a graduate teacher at Penn State University. He also taught mathematics for Waynesburg College. Toth’s main teaching areas are mathematics and computer science.
Toth and his family moved to western PA in 1992, when he accepted the position of math and computer teacher for the West Greene School District. After 3 1/2 years, he was appointed to the assistant high school principal position at Bentworth High School. In 1997, he took the position of assistant middle school principal at the Chartiers Valley School District.
Toth is a 1978 graduate of Bishop Guilfoyle high School. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree from Penn State University in 1982. In 1990, he received his Master of Education Degree from then St. Francis College in Loretto and certifications to teach mathematics and general science. He embarked on doctoral studies in Mathematics Education at Penn State before moving to Washington.
He received his secondary principal certification and Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibilty from California University of Pennsylvania. In the Spring of 2003, he began his doctoral studies in Educational Administration.
Toth is formerly from Altoona and currently resides in Washington PA with his family. His parents, George and Eleanor Toth reside in Altoona.
Toth is married to a 1981 Bellwood-Antis graduate, Penny (Skipper) Toth. They have two children, Jessica, 21, and Julia, 20. Jessica is a second-year student at the Community College of Allegheny County and Julia is entering her third year at California University of Pennsylvania.
They have lived in Western PA for the last 11 years.
