The retired assistant superintendent in the Mars Area School District has been replaced with two people.

In a special meeting Tuesday, the school board hired Joseph W. Pasquerilla and Matthew B. Friedman as assistant superintendents of technology and curriculum. Each will be paid $85,000 a year in a three-year contract; start dates are not yet determined.

They replace Sharon Kamicker, who retired in June after 11 years at Mars Area.

Superintendent William Pettigrew said the school board reached a consensus after interviewing candidates for the position that it would be better to hire two assistant superintendents instead of a second assistant high school principal. The principal slot was an addition to the 2010-11 budget.

"We reconsidered, looking at the financial consideration, and decided to go with two assistant superintendents," Dr. Pettigrew said. "We have a number of projects that we want to attack with a lot of vigor, especially in ... technology and curriculum."

Dr. Pasquerilla was most recently assistant to the superintendent and director of curriculum, instruction and assessment at Ambridge Area School District. He also served as principal of Northway Elementary School in North Hills School District and as a social studies teacher at West Middlesex Junior/Senior High School in West Middlesex Area School District.

He has a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Pittsburgh. He earned a master's degree in classroom guidance and a bachelor's degree in secondary education/comprehensive social studies, both from Youngstown State University.

Mr. Friedman holds a superintendent's letter of eligibility from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania; a master's degree in public policy and management/educational leadership from Carnegie Mellon University; a master's degree in education from Duquesne University; and a bachelor's degree in political science/communications from the University of Pittsburgh.

He comes from the Keystone Oaks School District, where he was supervisor of curriculum/instruction and staff development, a member of the district's negotiating team and lead administrator for developing a strategic plan. He was also an assistant middle school principal and activities coordinator at Keystone Oaks, and worked as a ninth-grade teacher in the Penn Hills School District.

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