Erie School District Superintendent Brian Polito, who steered the 10,000-student school system out of financial collapse and into an era of stability, is retiring a year earlier than he planned.
Polito, 56, the superintendent since July 1, 2017, is stepping down on June 30, 2025, rather than June 30, 2026, the retirement date under a contract extension he signed in August 2021 . The Erie School Board intends to hire a search firm to help find his successor.
“This is a tough job,” Polito told the Erie Times-News in announcing his early retirement on Friday. “I have been at it for eight years. It does take a toll on you.”
Polito listed some of the major events he experienced at the district :
- The financial crisis, in which the state’s 2017 approval of an additional $14 million in recurring state aid proved to be a lifeline. The state removed the district from financial watch in September 2022 .
- The 2017 financially driven reconfiguration of the district’s schools, including the merging of East and Strong Vincent high schools at Erie High School .
- Three major fires: two at Erie High, in May 2017 and December 2018 , and another at Wilson Middle School, in October 2020 .
- The shooting at Erie High that left a student seriously injured in April 2022 .
- The COVID-19 pandemic .