NORTHERN CAMBRIA, Pa. – Northern Cambria School Board officially ratified the interim superintendent contract Tuesday, setting a schedule and pay for the next four months.
The move comes after Alan Johnson was approved to serve in the acting role and selected to step into the position officially come July 1 at the committee meeting earlier in this month.
Johnson will work in the district up to two days per week and be paid $300 per day for his time, according to a motion Tuesday.
“I’m humbled and honored to be here,” he said.
Board member Jennifer Zeanchock questioned how the district would reimburse Johnson for his time. The interim district leader said he will report directly to the business office on the days he works.
Johnson also said he wouldn’t be limited to only two days if an issue needing his attention arises.
Solicitor Toby McIlwain told the group he’d finalized the contract for the work Tuesday.
Johnson is taking over for former Northern Cambria Superintendent Laura Fisanick, who was ousted at the contentious February committee meeting.
Some board members and several members of the public criticized the motion to release Fisanick from her contract that would have expired June 30.
They also lodged complaints about replacing her with Johnson, noting no ill will toward the new superintendent but the process.
The board was set to vote on a three-year contract for Johnson Tuesday, but took no action on the matter.
President Kevin Krug said the document wasn’t ready so they should hold off on voting.
Johnson has more than 30 years of experience in public education and retired from East Allegheny School District in 2023.
He said he applied to Northern Cambria because it appeared the district would lose its superintendent soon, and he felt he could be 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 wish for Fisanick to lose her job and holds her in high esteem.
Johnson said it seemed like the outgoing superintendent, a district alum and resident, put in a lot of work during her time and he intends to build on that.
He also has project experience and wants to see the elementary/middle school addition and school consolidation work she oversaw completed – Johnson was Greater Johnstown High School principal when the new secondary building was constructed.
Another reason he left retirement, Johnson said, is because he enjoys working in public education.
He said he enjoys helping teachers “do what they do,” and being superintendent is one of the few positions “where if you work hard enough you can move that needle.”
Related to the building project, the board approved a change order Tuesday that could result in some savings.
The motion was to forgo construction of the maintenance area and move the IT director’s room to a first-floor space and a classroom to the second floor.
It was agreed by maintenance Director Jeffrey Smith, elementary Principal Joy Tibbott and Axis Architecture President Hank Tkacik, who designed the project, this was an appropriate move.
“There’s savings because we’re reducing some work,” Tkacik told the board.
Because of the change, there will be some added cost with moving a drain and grounding rods, but Tkacik said he expected the savings to outweigh those expenses.
Other expenditures approved by the board included more than $40,000 in equipment for the technical education room and a roughly $6,000 repair bill for the furnace at the high school.
