More information is being released about the process that led the state Secretary of Education to reinstate a Slippery Rock School District principal.
An order was issued late last week that reinstated Dr. Kristie Shulsky to her position as principal at Moraine Elementary School. In the order, more details were provided on the timeline of the incident and how the district handled the decision to terminate Shulsky, which was primarily based around accusations that she was intoxicated at work.
According to the order, Shulsky was celebrating her anniversary on the night of April 23, 2024 and had two glasses of wine. She then struggled to get her son to sleep that night and went to bed around 1 a.m. Before she went to bed, she took medically prescribed prescription drugs. Shulsky then took the medication at 7 a.m. the following morning and went into work.
Upon arrival on Aprl 24, Dr. Shulsky interacted with staff and others. During the same morning, school employee Tammy Neupauer, who is the wife of former Butler County Community College President Dr. Nick Neupauer, called her husband about a rumor that Shulsky was intoxicated at work.
Neupauer then called the Slippery Rock School District solicitor Michael Hnath, who also served in the same capacity at BC3, to report the rumor.
Hnath went to Slippery Rock Superintendent Dr. Alfonso Angelucci and told him that he received a report that Shulsky might be intoxicated at work.
Angelucci and his assistant Denise Houpt went to Moraine Elementary School just after 11 a.m. to investigate. Angelucci spoke with office staff who said they did not notice anything out of the ordinary regarding Shulsky’s behavior. Angelucci then spoke with Shulsky about the allegations she was intoxicated; Shulsky vehemently denied the accusation and used profanity in her response.
Angelucci said he understood why she was upset, but said he was going to have to send her home for the day while he investigated. Shulsky then offered to take a field sobriety test and go to the emergency room to be tested. Angelucci said that was not necessary; he also added in the testimony that he never would have allowed Shulsky to drive home if he had any reason to believe she was intoxicated.
Shulsky returned to work the following day. Angelucci said he never would have allowed that to happen if he suspected Shulsky had been intoxicated at work.
According to the order, Tammy Neupauer, who worked at Moraine Elementary as a paraprofessional, resigned on April 29 and met with Angelucci the following day.
During that meeting, Angelucci received additional information about the events of April 24 that led him to place Shulsky on paid administrative leave. The order did not say what additional information was provided.
Shulsky and her husband then met with Angelucci, Hnath, and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Susan Miller on May 9. During that meeting, Shulsky told the administrative team that she took her prescpried medications closer together on April 23 and 24, and that might have been the reason that anyone perceived her as acting differently the morning of the 24th.
It was also during that same meeting that district leaders discussed a small counter bell that was in the Moraine Elementary office. A staff member at Moraine said the bell was used to alert when Angelucci or Miller would come into the building. Shulsky denied the accusation.
The district continued its investigation after that meeting. Current and former staff members raised several other allegations about Shulsky’s time as principal according to the investigation. She was accused of throwing a plastic container of sugar in front of a staff member, used profanity in the workplace, napped in a conference room, treated staff poorly, and reprimanded teachers in “a humiliating fashion.”
She also was accused of intentionally withholding clothing, footwear, and other items donated to help less fortunate students and families.
Following a hearing on July 16, Angelucci converted Shulsky from paid administrative leave to unpaid. He then submitted a recommendation to terminate the employment of Shulsky to the school board, which approved the move on July 29. The following day, Shulsky was sent a Notice of Hearing and Statement of Charges.
The district charged Shulsky with:
- Immorality for the allegations of intoxication/impairment along with lying about the counter bell.
- Intemperance for the allegations of throwing a container of sugar and treating staff poorly.
- Cruelty for intentionally withholding clothing, footwear, and other items.
- Insubordination for responding to two applicants who emailed Shulsky about a teaching position while she was on leave.
Shulsky was officially dismissed from the district on January 13, 2025 by a unanimous vote.
In the order from Carrie Rowe, acting secretary of education, she cited numerous reasons from the timeline of events that led her to the decision to reinstate Shulsky to her position.
- The school board voted to approve the recommendation of termination of Shulsky before issuing written charges.
- Rowe writes that the district did not follow the proper procedures and should have sent Shulsky a list of charges and held a hearing prior to voting on a recommendation to terminate.
- The immorality charge was based on testimony of Superintendent Dr. Angelucci, not a community member.
- Because Angelucci is not a resident of the district and does not have school children that attend the school, Rowe said his status as a “community member” was suspect. She also said Angelucci had a “direct interest in supporting the termination of Shulsky.”
- Rowe also found there was insufficient evidence to say Shulsky was using prescription medicine in a way that deviated from the recommended use.
- Rowe said the district focused on Shulsky lying about the silver counter bell, but she did not believe it violated the community standards of the district.
- The intemperance charge was dismissed after Rowe ruled that while Shulsky may have been unprofessional when yelling at staff, she did not support it reaching a charge of intemperance.
- As to the cruelty charge, Rowe said the district focused on Shulsky allegedly denying requests by faculty members to access donations intended for students in need. Rowe said in her ruling that even if the evidence is true, such conduct “is far removed from the intentional and malicious infliction of physical suffering or other abusive treatment required to sustain a charge of cruelty.”
Shulsky’s attorney Steven Winslow said that the allegation she was intoxicated was “absolutely false.” He added that the ruling takes effect immediately, meaning the district must comply with the ruling from the Department of Education. However, Winslow noted the district could appeal the decision to the Commonwealth Court.
Winslow said the order requires the district to put Shulsky back into the principal role at Moraine Elementary School. However, Slippery Rock School District also hired a new principal, Shawn Zappia, for Moraine Elementary School. He officially took over on July 1st.
