Peters hires staff for new school year

McMURRAY – Less than two weeks before school starts, Peters Township School Board made numerous personnel moves Monday to ensure full staffing levels.
At Peters Township High School, Katelyn Gilroy is the new librarian, replacing Lindsey Myers. Jennifer Carfano is the new instructional support teacher at Bower Hill Elementary School, replacing Marissa McFeathers.
School starts Aug. 31.
Other new hires approved by the board include Kathleen Melnyk as the special education teacher at McMurray Elementary, replacing Lauren Cozad; Jamie Recker is the school counselor at McMurray Elementary, replacing Stephanie Ali, who assumes the same position at Pleasant Valley Elementary; and Christopher Allen is the technology education teacher at the high school, replacing Larry Ansell.
In other personnel moves approved by the board, Marissa Clancy, a special education teacher at McMurray Elementary, assumes the same position at the high school. April Ragland, dean of students at the high school, becomes an assistant principal at the high school.
“More duties, but no change in compensation,” Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Murphy told board members who questioned Ragland’s change.
In other matters, the board approved the district volunteer policy. Any person with direct contact with children must have a state criminal record check, a state child abuse clearance and a federal criminal history check, which includes fingerprinting.
“The governor has waived fees for the state clearances,” board member Lisa Anderson said.
The changes are part of a package of legislation enacted in response to a report of a state Task Force on Child Protection, which was prompted by the arrest and conviction of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky on charges of molesting children over a number of years.