Petition Seeks Adminstrative Leave Of Cheltenham Schools Superintendent

CHELTENHAM TOWNSHIP, PA — A resident has gathered hundreds of signatures calling for an investigation of Cheltenham Schools Superintendent Brian W. Scriven over what he says are unsafe security protocols at district schools.

Jordan Miller posted on the Cheltenham Township Residents Facebook page on Thursday that he accumulated a petition of over 200 signatures asking the school board to place the superintendent on administrative leave and conduct a formal investigation of his leadership.

The school board recently sent the school community an email saying it was backing the superintendent despite residents complaining about school safety.

School directors said that "concerns around safety and student conduct have presented challenges that we continue to navigate."

School officials, though, have never detailed the exact safety concerns. But they said they are taking measures to enhance efforts around communication and community engagement.

Miller said he sent an email to the school board stating that he would pull his son from the school district for the next school year in protest.

"I still will be fighting to make Cheltenham a district that we can all feel proud to send the children in our community," Miller said.

Miller's email addressed to the Cheltenham Township School Board starts out that "after much consideration and many difficult experiences with the district over the past academic year, our family has made the decision to enroll our oldest son in private school."

Miller said that as he reviewed email exchanges with district administration throughout the year, one pattern became impossible to ignore.

Miller said that whenever he pushed for clarity or "asked difficult but reasonable questions," he was often redirected to the district solicitor or someone in a similar role.

"That approach does not foster trust or create a welcoming environment for parents," Miller said. "Quite the opposite — it discourages engagement. What this district needs now more than ever is involved parents who feel respected, heard, and welcomed as partners in their children’s education."

Miller said that families should not feel intimidated or dismissed for seeking transparency and accountability.

School directors said they would take concrete action steps:

1. Ensuring every email sent to the school board is responded to within a week (beyond an automatic reply)
2. Restarting the Board’s Communications Committee
3. Establishing a Climate & Culture Committee of the Board
4. Committing to an audit of our special education program to make recommendations for areas of strength and opportunities for improvement that will begin by the end of this academic year.

"I am deeply disappointed by the Board’s decision to extend Dr. Scriven’s contract for another five years," he said. "I also have concerns regarding the hiring of the new assistant superintendent from Baltimore, where Dr. Scriven previously worked before coming to Cheltenham. To many families, these decisions signal a continuation of the same leadership approach that has contributed to growing frustration and disconnection within the community."