Lewisburg Area School Board hires Dr. Edward Gunkle, approves administrator raises
Lewisburg Area School District hired Dr. Edward Gunkle as assistant superintendent under a three-year, $125,000-a-year contract with at least a 3% annual raise; the board also approved administrator pay increases.
The Lewisburg Area School District Board of Directors voted to hire Dr. Edward Gunkle as assistant superintendent and approved pay increases for several administrators during its regular meeting in Lewisburg on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. Board members signed off on Gunkle’s contract and on unspecified raises for district administrative staff at the same session.
Gunkle signed a three-year employment contract that takes effect May 5. The contract sets his salary at $125,000 per year and includes an annual raise of no less than 3%. The board packet and meeting action established the May 5 start date and the guaranteed minimum annual adjustment through the term.
After the meeting, Assistant Board Secretary Kristen Gemberling directed Dr. Edward Gunkle to sign the employment contract, and meeting photos show Gunkle speaking and signing the agreement. Captions from the district meeting noted that Gunkle will serve as assistant superintendent effective May 5 and documented his post-meeting contract signing under Gemberling’s direction.
The board’s vote also included pay increases for several administrators; the meeting record available at the time of reporting did not list which administrators received raises, the amounts or percentages, or whether the adjustments are one-time or ongoing. The board did not make public the vote tallies tied to the raises or to Gunkle’s hire during the meeting summary released after the session.
The Feb. 26 meeting included other agenda items and community presentations. Two exchange students, Catalina Garcia Alonso, a sophomore from Spain, and Blanka Has, a junior from Poland, presented to the board about their experiences at Lewisburg Area High School during the same Thursday meeting where Gunkle’s hiring and the administrator pay actions occurred.
With the contract signed and an effective date set for May 5, Dr. Edward (Ed) Gunkle is scheduled to assume the assistant superintendent role as the district moves forward into the spring. The board’s approval establishes the contractual pay baseline of $125,000 and the minimum 3% annual raises for the next three years while details on the administrator increases and vote tallies remain to be disclosed.
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