Leetonia left in limbo following DelBoccio’s arrest

LEETONIA — The weekend arrest of East Palestine High School Principal Gerald “Tony” DelBoccio, 42, Poland, on theft charges leaves the Leetonia School District in limbo, as DelBoccio was expected to replace Dennis Dunham as superintendent at the end of July.

It is unclear what the district’s next steps will be, but the board is set to meet Wednesday in a special executive session to discuss the matter with no action expected. Calls to the Leetonia school board were deferred to board President Michael Henderson. Henderson said that the board does not have a comment at this time but a letter reportedly sent out to families in the Leetonia District — dated June 9 and posted to social media — addressed the situation.

“The Leetonia EVSD Board of Education is aware of the theft charges and subsequent arrest of our incoming Superintendent, Mr. Tony DelBoccio,” it read. “As his case develops, we will be working with our legal team to determine the best path forward for our Bear Community. Our decision will be deeply rooted in our value of excellence in education with respect to the outcome of our judicial system.”

DelBoccio was scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, but that preliminary hearing was continued for June 17 at the request of DelBoccio’s attorney Charles Amato. DelBoccio is free on a $10,000, own-recognizance bond and is due back in Columbiana County Municipal Court on June 17. He is ordered to have no contact with East Palestine Schools.

DelBoccio was charged with fifth-degree felony theft following an investigation initiated by calls from East Palestine School officials to the village police department on June 7. School officials reported that numerous electronic devices including tablets, laptops and televisions were missing from DelBoccio’s office. According to the investigation report provided by East Palestine police, officials with the East Palestine School District told law enforcement that “issues with DelBoccio” had caused them to become suspicious and led to a check of his office closet and found it “cleared out.” The report also said that DelBoccio had been “passed over” as superintendent at East Palestine” and “had recently taken a job as superintendent of Leetonia.”

DelBoccio was allegedly viewed on security cameras entering the building on June 5 with a backpack and “an empty black bag” before going into his office. The report stated that DelBoccio was later seen leaving carrying the bag as well as two boxes of what “appeared to be Apple MacBooks.”

Officers at Leetonia Schools assisted in the investigation and made contact with DelBoccio. The missing items were allegedly found in DelBoccio’s vehicle on June 7 along with several other items that the East Palestine administration had not reported missing. The estimated value of the 29 recovered items totaled $4,602.

An affidavit written by East Palestine Police Department Detective Daniel Haueter said when the elecontronic devices were discovered in DelBoccio’s possession, DelBoccio “advised he had removed the items from the school, to take them home and was going to turn them over to the I.T. department which is located on the very same school campus they were taken from.”

A statement from the East Palestine City Schools said the district is cooperating with the investigation and that DelBoccio was placed on paid administrative leave.

“The East Palestine School District is cooperating with local police during an active investigation regarding high school principal Tony DelBoccio, and the allegations of theft. The board of education had accepted Mr. DelBoccio’s resignation on Monday, June 3 during a regularly scheduled board meeting with his last day of employment to be July 31,” the district said. “During the course of the investigation, Principal DelBoccio has been placed on paid administrative leave. As always, our focus is on providing every student within our district a safe and positive learning environment.”

DelBoccio was officially announced as Dunham’s replacement during a special Leetonia school board meeting on May 13. Dunham is stepping down after four years with Leetonia to become the Columbiana County Educational Service Center’s director of teacher and learning.

Meanwhile, East Palestine City Schools announced last week that James Rook has been tabbed as their new superintendent when Chris Neifer moves on to the helm of Boardman Schools on July 31.

DelBoccio has been East Palestine High School principal since August 2021. Before joining the East Palestine staff, he was the high school principal and assistant superintendent at Southern Local (2013-2019). DelBoccio also served as assistant principal at Groveport Madison High School in Ohio (2019-2021).

Prior to his arrest, DelBoccio had never been charged with a criminal offense in Columbiana County. However, in May of 2020, a civil suit was brought against DelBoccio by the Columbiana County School Employees Credit Union. The credit union alleged that DelBoccio failed to repay a promissory note and requested a judgment of $9,357 plus interest. A default judgment was issued to the credit union and was settled in March.

selverd@mojonews.com