A Former Bucks Co. Schools Superintendent May Lead Centennial. Who Is It?

WARMINSTER, PA — The former leader of the Central Bucks School District has emerged as the top candidate to replace Centennial Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden, school officials said.

Abram Lucabaugh — who was let go in a severance agreement with the Central Bucks School District last year — is being considered by the Centennial School Board to lead the district when Bedden's contract is up at the end of June.

"There is no contract yet," Centennial School Board President Mary Alice Brancato told Patch on Friday. "This is who came out on top. This candidate presented us with some amazing stuff."

Brancato said Centennial had 32 applicants to replace Bedden, who is expected to retire. She said that list was whittled down with the help of the Bucks County Intermediate Unit.

"We wanted somebody who would be front and center at events and in classes and at schools," Brancato said. "We need to boost our morale."

Bracato said she hopes to negotiate a three-year contract with Lucabaugh, adding that "he won't be getting paid like he did at Central Bucks. We are Centennial."

The Central Bucks School Board reached a more than $700,000 severance agreement with Lucabaugh that was approved by the outgoing school board in November 2023.

Lucabaugh had worked for the district for the past 15 years, rising up through the ranks to superintendent, a job that he has held since 2021. He had been given a five-year contract and a 40 percent raise, making him one of the highest paid superintendents in the state.

Under the agreement, the now former superintendent will receive compensation totaling more than $710,000, a figure many in the audience at a school board meeting last year called “outrageous” and “insane.”

At that meeting, Central Bucks School Board President Dana Hunter defended the separation agreement, arguing that she had learned that the new Democrat majority planned to immediately fire the superintendent when it takes control of the board in December and install a new hand-picked administrator.

Brancato said that Lucabaugh presented plans of how he would like Centennial to proceed over the next few months to several years.

"I truly believe this person is going to do the best job for our community," Brancato said.

Click here to learn about Lucabaugh's background