Burnaford Named Bellefonte Area School District Superintendent

Bellefonte Area School District’s interim superintendent since last July is now taking on the position in a more permanent role.

The school board on Tuesday night voted unanimously to approve Tammie Burnaford as superintendent with a three-year contract effective immediately through June 30, 2024.

“I’m honored to be part of the team… I’m looking forward to the years ahead,” Burnaford said following the board’s vote.

Burnaford will receive an annual salary of $142,011 plus benefits, according to the contract.

Board president Jon Guizar commended Burnaford’s leadership of the district during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As we’ve all seen through emails and conversations with people in public your communication and your ability to get us through the crisis that we’ve faced was exemplary,” Guizar said.

A lifelong Centre County resident and Bald Eagle Area High School graduate, Burnaford has spent 18 of her 33 years in education with BASD. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Penn State.

Burnaford was an elementary school teacher and principal in Bald Eagle Area School District before going to Bellefonte Area in 2003 to become principal at Pleasant Gap Elementary. She was appointed as the district’s assistant superintendent in 2016.

After Superintendent Michelle Saylor announced her planned retirement in 2020, the school board paused its search for her replacement because of the COVID-19 pandemic and named Burnaford assistant superintendent.