Carbon Career and Technical Institute’s joint operating committee removed the interim tag from Dave Reinbold’s director title last week, coming to an agreement to keep him at the helm of the school beyond the 2023-24 school year.

The contract, obtained through a right-to-know request, runs from June 1 through May 31, 2027, and calls for Reinbold to make $132,500 in 2024-25 for a 260-day schedule.

“The parties agree that the salary will remain at $132,500 for the life of this contract without a scheduled raise,” the contract states. “The Joint Operating Committee does have the option of approving increases at the end of each twelve-month period.”

The details were not made public when the vote was taken last week.

By local comparison, Lehighton Area School District Superintendent Dr. Christina Fish was hired in 2022 at a salary of $132,500 with a 3% increase each year, Palmerton Superintendent Dr. Jodi Frankelli’s most recent contract calls for her to make $145,000 with a 3.5% increase each year, Panther Valley Superintendent David McAndrew is making around $115,000 per his most recent contract and Jim Thorpe Superintendent Robert Presley’s contract was extended in November at a salary of $135,000 with a 3% increase each year.

According to the contract, Reinbold and the JOC are to meet no later than June 15 for the purpose of a private discussion of the working relationships, school issues and existing and new goals.

“The parties agree that at least one meeting annually will be held between the Joint Operating Committee and the administrative director no later than June 15 of each school year and shall be devoted to a private discussion on evaluation of the administrative director’s job performance,” the contract states.

The contract says he is entitled to health benefits if he chooses.

Reinbold, who held the director role for many years, retired as CCTI’s administrative director at the end of 2022 and stayed through April 2023 to help with the transition when longtime principal Brent Borzak was promoted.

Borzak resigned after one school year in July 2023 and Reinbold, who had moved out of state, came back on an interim contract through the end of 2023. The contract called for Reinbold to be paid $438 per day with no benefits.

In November, CCTI extended Reinbold’s interim contract through June. He will start officially as director on June 1.

Reinbold’s new contract led to controversy when Earl Paules, Palmerton Area School District’s representative on the CCTI joint operating committee, quit in February. Paules said his resignation was spurred by Reinbold’s desire to stay in the director position beyond June 30, 2024, which is when his current contract ends. That decision, Paules said, came after members of CCTI’s JOC interviewed two director candidates.

According to a timeline provided by Paules, Reinbold gave one of the director candidates a tour of CCTI on Feb. 2.

“About two-and-a-half hours later, we received an email from Dave that he was willing to stay until at least January of 2026,” Paules said. “I just don’t think it should have happened this way. I’m trying to protect all of the sending school districts. Why should we keep someone who is only going to be there for maybe another three years instead of someone we could get for 10 or more years.”

Paules said he also took issue with Reinbold looking at director applications in an effort to help the JOC through the hiring process and then later “deciding he wanted to stay on longer.”

If (Reinbold) wanted to be the director he should have told us at the beginning of the search,” Paules said.

CCTI JOC chairwoman Renee DeMelfi criticized Paules just days after his comments.

“Not only did he divulge information from an executive session, but he also did not include the truth in what was going on,” she said.