Lewisburg Area School District names new assistant superintendent

Lewisburg Area School District hired Dr. Edward Gunkle as assistant superintendent during a Thursday board meeting in June 2023, filling one of the district’s most important central-office roles. The move gave the district a second-in-command expected to help steer curriculum work, staffing, student services and day-to-day building leadership as Lewisburg headed toward a new school year.

The assistant superintendent position carries practical weight well beyond the title. In a district like Lewisburg, the job usually connects the superintendent’s office with classrooms and buildings, where decisions on instruction, personnel issues and student supports can quickly affect teachers, principals and families. That can show up in how the district sets academic priorities, handles staffing assignments, coordinates discipline and manages communication between schools and administrators.

The hire also fit into a broader stretch of leadership changes in Lewisburg Area School District. Dr. Jennifer Baugh stepped down as superintendent in May 2022, and the board later selected Cathy Moser for the post in October 2022. Jennifer Polinchock was later sworn in as superintendent in Union County Court on a Tuesday morning in February 2026, underscoring how often the district’s top offices have shifted in recent years.

For Union County residents, that makes the assistant superintendent post more than a routine personnel item. When a district adds a strong administrator in the central office, the effects tend to reach the places families notice most: classroom priorities, building-level expectations and how quickly the system responds to staffing or student-service needs. In Lewisburg, where school leadership changes have been closely watched, the board’s decision to hire Gunkle signaled an effort to keep the administrative structure steady as the district worked through planning for the next school year.

The appointment also gave the district room to operate with a fuller leadership team at a time when school systems face pressure on staffing, instruction and coordination. In practice, that means the assistant superintendent will likely be part of the decisions that shape what students see in class, how teachers are supported and how the district carries out its broader academic and operational goals.