Pottsville hires Marian’s Sanfilippo as new athletic director
POTTSVILLE — Pottsville’s search for a new athletic director has finally ended.
The Pottsville Area School Board voted Wednesday evening to hire Pete Sanfilippo as its new athletic director at a salary of $88,000 (Act 93, 12 months). The vote came during the board’s regular monthly meeting at the Howard Fernsler Academic Center.
Sanfilippo, 46, spent the last 10 years at Marian Catholic as a teacher and administrator, serving the last three school terms as the Hometown school’s athletic director.
“I saw an amazing opportunity to advance my career as an athletic director and work at one of the biggest schools in Schuylkill County deep in tradition and school pride,” Sanfilippo said earlier this week. “I would like to thank Marian Catholic High School for the opportunity they provided me to grow as an athletic director, administrator and teacher.
“I am very thankful and excited for this next chapter in my life. I would like to thank my family for all their support and love.”
Sanfilippo fills the position that was vacant since the Pottsville Area School District terminated Derrell Johnson-Koulianos as director of athletics and student activities during a special meeting of the board May 7.
The board also approved the advertising for a full-time position of athletic director and a part-time position of assistant athletic director at that May 7 special meeting. The Pottsville Area School District has not filled the part-time assistant athletic director position as of this story being published.
The board voted Wednesday to approve the hiring of Scott Mattea as interim assistant athletic director through the agreement between the Pottsville Area School District and ESS Northeast.
Mattea, who served as assistant athletic director and activities treasurer prior to Johnson-Koulianos’ hiring, and then again after his suspension, was appointed as interim athletic director July 1. He will assist with Sanfilippo’s transition from Marian to Pottsville.
Long-time athletic director Eric Rismiller retired at the end of the 2024-25 school term.
Johnson-Koulianos was hired May 22, 2024. He was suspended in October after the district charged him with violating 11 district policies and the state school code and ignoring repeated instruction and warnings from administrators to correct his behavior, according to published reports.
A public termination hearing that began Jan. 15 and included sessions March 5 and April 8 led to the board voting to terminate Johnson-Koulianos in May. The Pottsville Area School Board had to wait until that decision was made before any action on the athletic director position moving forward could be made.
