Eleven years ago, Stephen Skrocki arrived at North Penn School District with a mission to make a lasting impact. After years of perseverance, determination, and cooperation, Skrocki has lifted this district higher than ever. And in just a few weeks, he will depart from it, but not without the knowledge that his goal to leave behind a district forever transformed has been accomplished. 

Stephen Skrocki has been North Penn’s Chief Financial Officer since early 2014. After reflecting back on his journey and his decision to join this family, he has always known this district would be the perfect fit for him. 

While North Penn seemed like a great fit to Skrocki, it ended up going both ways. Skrocki turned out to be a wonderful CFO for this district—a perfect match, you could say. His achievements have shown his character, but most importantly, his milestones during his career have also resembled everything North Penn stands for: equality, opportunity, and potential. 

“In about 2017, I developed a tax rebate program here in the school district for people in a community—homeowners and renters—that are in the low end of the economic spectrum. People who might have needed financial assistance…I know a lot of people receive a hundred percent of their real estate taxes back from either North Penn or the state at the end of the year,” Skrocki stated.

Although this tax rebate program has helped countless families in our community, the simple (or not so simple) task of creating it was not the end of Skrocki’s involvement in helping these disadvantaged community members. 

“I know many school board members who have done this, [Superintendent Dr. Bauer] and I included. We actually have gone out a couple of times and hand-delivered these checks to people. I’ve heard people say that they can finally buy groceries for the week or fill their prescriptions with the money they have received from the program. So hearing these stories from the people is really impactful,” Skocki said.  

Having been used here at North Penn for seven years, the program has shone like a jewel around Pennsylvania, catching the eyes of over thirty other school districts who now have adopted it too. Skrocki was given a state-level award for his program which was much deserved. 

Despite the difficulties that came along with it, Skrocki mentioned another accomplishment that he was proud to be a part of. Not because he got an award but because it provided aid to others, specifically North Penn’s faculty. 

“Another thing that was really innovative was our on-site healthcare center for our employees. That was five years of work and research before that came into a reality. There were many road bumps along the way where I felt like giving up, especially since it wasn’t a part of my typical work hours, but I kept in the back of my mind the fact that [North Penn] is about innovation. It’s not going to be easy, so we just have to keep plowing forward. I tried to remember that there would be a good resolution to this when it finally opened. And there was,” Skrocki stated.

Countless districts have visited and contacted North Penn about this healthcare center, filled with questions and curiosity about its benefits. In fact, many of these schools have even begun to plan their own center; all of which shows, as Skrocki emphasized, “North Penn’s role as a leader”. 

“The feedback we get from the healthcare center is phenomenal. It’s a great recruiting tool for employees. It’s a great way to keep employees here. It’s quality healthcare for our employees and their dependence. It’s free of charge for our employees and great for our taxpayers because it is saving money for them—so again, it’s something that no one around us has,” Skrocki commented.

A defining trait of North Penn’s CFO is his ability to work with others and to give recognition to others when it is due. No matter how successful the healthcare center evolved to be, Skrocki knows that the accomplishment was to be shared with everyone. 

“I certainly didn’t do it all myself. I had a lot of people helping along the way. A lot of efforts we do are never solo efforts. It’s a team effort, and I’m blessed to have a great team in the business office here at North Penn,” Skrocki said. 

Skrocki has won a budget award for ten straight years which is remarkable since only sixty-two school districts in the entire nation have won this same award for as long as North Penn has. When asked about how he continues to thrive despite the changes in revenue or politics, Skrocki knew right away how to answer. 

As renovation for the high school draws nearer, many wonder how the predecessor to Skrocki, Mrs. Tara B.G. Houser, will take the reins. Skrocki has faith that she will do a great job in handling this massive capital project with the help of a lot of long-term planning. 

“The financial challenges over the next couple of years are going to be pretty great because of the high school project. We need to borrow money to pay for the renovation which is called debt. Paying back that debt is going to be a heavy task; there’s no question about it. So, my advice to [Mrs. Houser] is to do proper planning, stick to the plan, make sure the plan is updated every year, and make sure the school board is aware of the plan,” Skrocki said. 

Houser will begin her own journey as CFO in April, but Skrocki is not quite finished yet with his story. Although he is retiring at North Penn, his future is going to continue to be packed with budgets and numbers. 

“I’m going to keep working. I am exploring a couple options right now. One of them is being an interim CFO. When districts are in a transition with their financial officers, they bring in somebody on a temporary basis that has a lot of experience and can guide the school district until the permanent person starts. I’ve already had some school districts reach out to me for that position,” Skrocki stated. 

This opportunity is a great one for Skrocki. North Penn knows how valuable his talents are, and any school will be tremendously lucky to have him—for however long a time.

One of the things I found admirable while I interviewed Skrocki was the radiance he exuded while talking about the community and the self-humility that flowed out of his words despite the fact that this article was about him and his career. To list all of his accomplishments and feats would be a very difficult task to undertake and an even longer article to write. However, the one thing that I know North Penn will miss is not these physical tokens of success but his honorable character, his generosity, and his kindness to all the students, faculty, and community members. 

“I’ve been doing this now for thirty-two years. I don’t want to walk away from public education. I feel like I still have a lot to offer. I feel like I am still young enough and sharp enough to help other schools in an interim or consulting capacity. To help them out the best I can,” Skrocki said.