Cumbria, Northern Pennsylvania – The Northern Cumbria School Board formally approved the interim principal contract Tuesday, setting a schedule and paying for the next four months.
The move comes after Alan Johnson was approved for a acting role and was elected to formally attend the position at a committee meeting earlier this month.
According to Tuesday’s motion, Johnson will be in the area for up to two days a week, with a daily time of $300.
“I’m honored to be here,” he said.
Board member Jennifer Zeanchock questioned how the region would pay back Johnson’s time. Interim district leaders said he would report directly to the business office on working days.
Johnson also said that if he needs to be aware of his problems, he will not be limited to two days.
Attorney Toby McIlwain told the panel that he completed the contract for the work on Tuesday.
Johnson took over as former Northern Cambria principal Laura Fisanick, who was ousted at a committee meeting in February.
Some board members and several public criticized the motion to release Fisanick from a contract that expires on June 30.
They also filed a complaint about replacing her with Johnson, noting that there is no intention to have any illness towards the new principal, but the process.
The board is scheduled to vote on Johnson’s three-year contract on Tuesday, but nothing is taken on the matter.
President Kevin Krug said the document was not ready yet, so they should postpone the vote.
Johnson has more than 30 years of experience in public education and retired from the East Allegheny School District in 2023.
He said he applied to the northern Cumbria County because the area seems to lose its principal soon, and he believes he could become a valuable leader during this turbulent time.
“I thought I could help,” Johnson said. “That’s why I’m here.”
He stressed that he did not want Fisanick to lose his job and was highly respected.
Johnson said it appears that the outgoing principal is an alumnus and resident who has done a lot of work during her time and he intends to build on it.
He also has project experience and would like to see her oversee the completion of the primary/middle school addition and school merger work-Johnson was principal of the Johnstown High School when it was new Grade II building.
Another reason he left to retire was because he liked to work in public education, Johnson said.
He said he likes to help teachers “do what they do” and being principal is one of the few positions “if you work hard enough, you can move that needle.”
Related to the construction project, the board approved Tuesday’s change order, which could lead to some savings.
The bill was to abandon the construction of the maintenance area and move the IT supervisor’s room to the first floor space and classroom to the second floor.
Joy Tibbott, the basic principal who designed the project, and Jeffrey Smith, maintenance director of Hank Tkacik, president of Axis Architecture, agreed that this was an appropriate move .
“This is savings because we are reducing some of the work,” Tkacik told the board.
Due to this change, moving the drain and ground poles will add some costs, but Tkacik said he hopes to save more than those costs.
Other expenses approved by the board include more than $40,000 in technical education room equipment, and about $6,000 in repairs for high school stoves.
