By Jim Spezialetti
-Carlynton-
When the calendar turns to 2021, Carlynton Junior-Senior High School will have a new assistant principal.
The school board approved the hiring of Emily Skirtich as the new assistant principal, with a start date on or about Jan. 12.
Skirtich is employed at Freedom Area High School where she is a 10th grade communications teacher since the beginning of the 2019-20 school year.
Before working in the Freedom Area School District, she began her professional career at North Catholic High School serving as the 10th and 12th grade English teacher for five years.
While at North Catholic, she also worked as the admissions outreach and marketing coordinator for the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Skirtich of Ross Township replaces Rachel Gattuso, who resigned in May 2020.
“The school district has such a small community feel,” Skirtich said. “The community is very involved, which is very important to me.”
Superintendent John Kreider said the district received 54 applications for the assistant principal position. The search was narrowed down to 12 candidates, then down to several finalists.
“I was impressed with the candidates who applied. It was extremely competitive,” Kreider said.
“Emily’s experience in the classroom, her experience with technology and her drive to be a natural leader in education put her above the rest.”
New board member
During the Nov. 10 school board meeting, directors appointed Susie Puskar of Crafton to fill the remaining term of David Roussos, who resigned last month.
“I think public education is the backbone of a strong community,” Puskar said. “I am interested in helping to build a strong community, and one way to do that is through public education.”
Puskar has a second-grader in the district and another child who will be a kindergarten student next school year.
Board president Jim Schriver said the directors asked Puskar if she would be interested in filling the remaining term, which ends in Dec. 2021. Schriver said board members thought Puskar would be a good fit, based on her attending meetings and providing input as a resident.
Puskar was sworn in at the beginning of the meeting and was able to vote on remaining agenda items.
Finance director leaving
Carlynton board has accepted the resignation of Christopher Juwick, director of fiscal affairs and budget, effective Jan. 8.
Juzwick has served as finance director since February 2018. He is leaving to pursue other interests.
“It’s tough to leave when you made so many acquaintances. I want to thank everyone for the opportunity,” Juzwick said.
Several board members credit Juzwick with making the business office more efficient and getting information quickly to them.
“He gives a lot of thought to decisions,” said Kreider about Juzwick. “Based on many of the decisions we had to make over the past several months, he has done an outstanding job with keeping the district financially sound.”
Hybrid meeting
The Nov. 10 board meeting was the first in-person meeting since February. The meeting was also streamed through Zoom and YouTube. Several board members participated remotely.