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Greater Johnstown SD board approves multiple personnel hires, creates 2025–26 teaching positions and OKs February bills
Summary
At its April 1, 2025 meeting the Greater Johnstown School District board appointed an attendance officer, approved several staff hires, authorized a package of new 2025–26 professional positions and approved February general-fund bills with one check tabled.
Missy Spawley, appointed temporary president for the April 1, 2025, Greater Johnstown School District board meeting, presided over a series of personnel and budget votes during a meeting attended by five directors and four absentees.
The board approved the contracted appointment of Jen King as attendance officer/reengagement specialist at a prorated salary of $50,000, contingent on completion of payroll and background clearances. The board also approved the hiring of Catherine Gonzales as a special-education teacher (emotional support, learning support, autistic support) at Johnstown Middle School, with an effective start date of Aug. 19, 2025, contingent on required clearances.
The board approved a recommendation to create a set of professional positions for the 2025–26 school year, to be posted by administration. The list includes multiple elementary and secondary classroom positions (fourth grade; sixth grade; mathematics; business/computer information technology), special-education support roles (autistic, emotional, learning support), a gifted-support teacher and a behavioral intervention specialist. Board members held one listed opening at Johnson Elementary School (item 6 under that school) for further consideration; the remaining new positions were authorized for posting.
Administrators presented and the board approved a personnel appointment to a maintenance position (Marquette Baden to a heavy-duty cleaner role) contingent on clearances. One personnel item (PN25025) was explicitly tabled by the board.
On finance, the board approved the general-fund bills for February 2025 totaling $2,992,998.24, with one vendor check (check number 96783) removed from approval and tabled for follow-up. The board also approved a motion to exonerate listed tax collectors for collection of 2024 school taxes for several municipalities and township collectors as presented on VF49/25.
Superintendent remarks during the meeting highlighted the district’s three top priorities in the comprehensive plan proposed for 2025–2028. "First and foremost is attendance," the superintendent said, adding that the board would approve hiring a reengagement/truancy position to focus on attendance. The superintendent described the second priority as improving academic performance and implementing new curriculum with fidelity, and the third as recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers.
Several motions passed by voice vote with the board calling "Aye" to approve; where the record shows items were tabled, the article notes those outcomes. The meeting opened with the temporary-president appointment to enable the board to proceed and adjourned after completing the listed agenda votes.
The approved hires and newly authorized postings are conditional on the personnel office receiving required payroll and background-clearance documents and on administration-determined effective dates where the agenda specified contingent wording.
Items tabled or held for later consideration will return to the board in a future meeting or as otherwise directed by administration.
