Dr. Steven Yanni (Credit: CBSD)
Embattled former Central Bucks School District Superintendent Dr. Steven Yanni will likely not receive a large payout as part of his contract, after being fired by the school board this month in the wake of special needs abuse allegations at Jamison Elementary School.
Yanni’s contract, according to Bucks County Courier Times, provided him payout for unused time off upon his resignation as retirement account contributions. He was being paid $275,000, according to the newspaper.
However, the board opted not to accept his resignation earlier this month and fired Yanni in a 5-1 vote on Oct. 6, with Board Director Rick Haring voting in opposition, Director Jim Pepper abstaining, and Directors Rob Dugger and Jenine Zdanowicz being absent from the meeting.
At the same meeting, former Jamison Elementary Principal Dave Heineman was also terminated in a 6-0 vote.
The votes followed public hearings in August and came nearly six months after both men were placed on paid administrative leave.
The decision ended Yanni’s short tenure as district superintendent — he began in July 2024 — and closed a chapter that began when a whistleblower reported classroom mistreatment last year.
According to investigations by Disability Rights Pennsylvania and the district’s independent review, administrators failed to properly report the abuse, misled parents and police, and neglected required notifications to ChildLine, the state’s child-abuse hotline.
At the October meeting, Pepper, whose child was among those allegedly abused, abstained from the vote but called the outcome “without question the right thing to do.” He told NBC10 the decision “closes only one chapter” for his family, saying they plan to pursue legal action.
“My wife and I will be dealing with this, and my son and I will be dealing with this for the rest of our lives,” Pepper said, holding back tears.
The allegations stemmed from a Jamison Elementary autistic support classroom, where a teacher and aide were accused of restraining and mistreating students, including withholding water and allowing one child to undress. Both the teacher and aide were previously terminated.
Yanni, meanwhile, has since taken a position as CEO of Northwood Academy Charter School in Philadelphia.
According to Bucks County Courier Times, Yanni opted for a public termination hearing.
PhillBurbs reported that Yanni’s contract also offered a mutually-agreed separation, that would have given him more salary and benefits equivalent to another year.
This is the second superintendent to leave the district in under three years: Superintendent Abram Lucabaugh left with more than $700,000 when he resigned in late 2023 – as his contract did stipulate he receive unused time off payment.
According to the newspaper, Lucabaugh's had signed a new five-year contract just a few months before resigning, entitling him to larger cash payouts for unused time off than he would've had under the prior contract.
