New Schools Head is Used to Adversity: Superintendent Ready for Lehighton Area Challenges, Board Says.

By Kevin Amerman, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

Jun. 6–Fresh out of college, James Kraky got his first teaching job in the middle of a school year after his predecessor had a nervous breakdown while teaching some difficult students.

After climbing several ladders in different school systems, Kraky became superintendent of the then financially distressed Berwick Area School District.

Now, the battle-tested Kraky, hired last month as Lehighton Area School District’s superintendent, takes over a school district in transition. And school board members, speaking at a meet-and-greet event for Kraky at the high school auditorium on Tuesday night, say they couldn’t find a better man for the job.

“What makes him a good fit is exactly what he was saying he did at Berwick,” said School Director Franklin Ruch. “Everything he did at Berwick is what we had going on here. We just had a superintendent leave and our district’s been in turmoil for a year. … And he’s going to have to get this district back on track and get everybody’s morale up and get everyone working together.”

School Director Dave Krause said Kraky isn’t starting from scratch. He said the school board has already tackled some of the district’s financial problems and has adjusted administrative staffing because “people weren’t in the right positions.”

“It’s not to the extent that he faced when he went to Berwick,” Krause said. “He’s coming in with the ship headed in the right direction. It’s just a matter of now taking hold of the wheel and fine tuning things.”

Kraky and school board members said balancing the budget will likely be the superintendent’s biggest challenge.

“I think all school districts are being held to an increasingly high accountability and yet being asked to do that with limited funds,” Kraky said, noting limited help from the state.

About 40 community members attended the event, which started with a performance by the district’s concert choir. No one spoke up during a question-and-answer session. Kraky, a Millersville University graduate, attended with his wife, Mindy, and daughters Katherine and Jaime. His daughters are in the Northwestern Lehigh School District.

The 51-year-old, originally from Scott Township in Lackawanna County, started his career at the Chester County Intermediate Unit, where he spent 16 years. He also worked at Carbon County Area Vocational-Technical School overseeing special education, and in the Catasauqua Area School District, where he eventually served as assistant superintendent.

Kraky will start off making $118,000 at Lehighton. He’ll get a 3 percent raise annually during his five-year contract.

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