Abington Fills Top School Adminstrative Position

ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, PA — The Abington Township School District has filled a top administrative position that was recently vacated by a retirement.

The Board of School Directors at its meeting on Tuesday night named Patricia Denicola as the district's new chief financial officer.

Denicola has more than two decades of financial leadership experience in both the public and private sectors, school officials said.

She replaces Christopher Lionetti, who announced his retirement in April after 32 years of service. He led the district’s business office since 2009.

Denicola spent 13 years in Pennsylvania public school business administration, the last five as the chief financial officer of the Boyertown Area School District. During her tenure, she also served as the executive director of the Public School Health Insurance Cooperative.

She is a Certified Public Accountant and has a master's degree in business administration from Lehigh University. Denicola earned a bachelor’s degree at Bloomsburg University.

“After an extensive and competitive interview process, Ms. Denicola was selected as the top candidate to lead the Abington School District Business Office thanks to her impressive background and varied areas of expertise,” Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Fecher said.

“Her in-depth knowledge and skill sets will be valuable on the heels of our May 20 referendum, during which voters authorized the district to invest in building a new middle school," the superintendent said. "We are confident that Ms. Denicola will be an outstanding addition to our team during such a critical juncture.”

Lionetti will remain in his position until September to assist in the financial leadership transition and see the district through the opening of the 2025-2026 school year.

“While we are sad to say goodbye to Chris after such a long tenure in the Abington School District, we are pleased to welcome Patty to our leadership team this summer,” Fecher added.