Johnstown Superintendent Search
An invitation to apply for the position of Superintendent of Schools
The Greater Johnstown School District Board of Education has launched a comprehensive search for a collaborative visionary leader who is ready to immerse themselves in all aspects of the district and community to serve as its next Superintendent of Schools.
The ideal candidate will have a background in strategic planning, budgeting and financial management; will have strong communication skills, and values all students, teachers, and staff.
The successful candidate will be personable, approachable, engaged and present in our schools and the greater Johnstown community. They must act with integrity, honesty, and transparency; should understand the ever-changing makeup of the district, possess a deep understanding of social-emotional learning to promote and advance academic excellence, as well as be cognizant of the deep-rooted traditions that make Johnstown unique.
The individual will work with the Board of Education and stakeholders to create and execute a clear vision for the district moving forward.
About the district
Video: Live Here, Work Here, Grow Here
About the community
Qualifications
2024-25 budget information
About the Greater Johnstown School District
The Greater Johnstown School District is a public school accredited by the NYS Education Department, serving approximately 1,600 students in universal pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. The dedicated staff strives to provide each child with a quality education and to foster in them the ability to be critical and creative thinkers, problem-solvers, responsible citizens and life-long learners.
The school district consists of five buildings:
- Pleasant Avenue Elementary (Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st grade)
- Warren Street Elementary (2nd, 3rd and 4th grades)
- Knox Middle School (5th, 6th and 7th grades)
- Johnstown High School (8th through 12th grades)
- Glebe Street School, which hosts the HFM BOCES Regional PTECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School).
All of our buildings are carefully maintained, with well-equipped media centers and computer labs. The Knox complex boasts the venerable Knox Field, an interscholastic stadium featuring lights and a field turf surface, suitable for a wide variety of athletic events. Johnstown Senior High School hosts the district’s indoor pool, lighted tennis courts and the Johnstown Performing Arts Center, a stunning, modern, state-of-the-art auditorium for musical and theatrical events.
GJSD: Live Here, Work Here, Grow Here
Vision, Mission, and Goals
Vision
The District will be a regional model school district of educational excellence for all students.
Mission
Adopted by Board Resolution August 17, 2023
The Greater Johnstown School District will provide the essential educational resources that support a fully engaged culture of continuous improvement and diverse, high-quality academic opportunities that equip students with the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to be contributing citizens in a stronger society.
District Goals
Adopted by Board Resolution August 17, 2023 for the period July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2025
Student Achievement 
Improve measurable student achievement K-12 within a connected, supportive, and pervasive data-informed culture, using highly effective instructional systems designed and evaluated to create optimal learning in a safe and caring environment.
Social-Emotional Learning
Make effective social and emotional learning a priority and actively support the rigorous pursuit of personal wellness within a culture of mutual respect and active appreciation of diversity in a caring and compassionate learning environment for all students and staff.
Highly Prized Personnel 
Hire, develop, supervise, and evaluate a community of highly effective and mutually collaborative faculty, administration and staff, prioritizing an overall culture of positive morale that encourages happiness and performance excellence in service to students.
Resource Provision
Develop, procure, maintain and ever-improve resources (facilities, equipment, technology, materials and supplies), coupled with decision-making that is intentional to the importance of relevance and sustainability.
Fiscal Health of the District
Prepare a fiscally sound and responsible budget, inextricably tied to long-range planning, that strives to balance the equitable, ongoing, and changing needs of students with what the District can/must ask its citizens to sustain. The District will make every effort to seek out or create alternative funding sources.
Community Relationships
Prioritize full, equitable, and equal community relationships to address adaptive challenges faced by the District, and build external and internal transparency and communication with diverse stakeholders with full consideration for the knowledge, experience, and expectations and values they hold.
To learn more about the district, visit www.johnstownschools.org.
About the Johnstown community
Located in the beautiful Mohawk Valley and at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, Johnstown is a small, historic city in Fulton County, New York, comprised of approximately 8,500 residents. It is conveniently located midway between Albany and Utica, and is just five miles north of New York State Thruway Exit 28, providing an easy commute.
The city’s colorful history harkens back to colonial times, and people from near and far enjoy visiting such landmarks as the baronial estate of Sir William Johnson, learning about the hometown of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and touring the Johnstown School Museum.
Known as one of the “Glove Cities,” Johnstown by the early 20th century was recognized worldwide for its leather and glove manufacturing, and – together with the surrounding Fulton and Montgomery county area – continues to work toward an economic revival taking a regional approach to progress.
The socioeconomic character of the community is diversified. The main industries are tourism and small manufacturing in the city proper and farming in the adjoining towns.
The Johnstown community is centered around a walkable downtown area, which features small businesses, shops, restaurants, a renovated public library, county and private office buildings, a 1772 courthouse and other historic attractions. Johnstown is also the busy county seat of Fulton County. The district’s Knox Athletic Field has long been a community hub and is one of the gems of the region. Retail and commercial development also continues to flourish along the city’s State Route 30A corridor.
Johnstown is less than an hour’s drive from the cultural and entertainment centers of Saratoga Springs and the Capital District, with New York City and Boston just a few hours away. Being just a few miles from the border of the Adirondack State Park – the largest protected wilderness in the contiguous United States – the area is a four-season recreational destination.
Many recreational opportunities are available to residents and vacationers throughout the year, including boating on nearby lakes, cross country and downhill skiing, golf, bicycling, jogging, tennis, fishing and hunting. Cultural events are often provided by civic bands, the nonprofit organization Johnstown Arts & Music, and art galleries.
Johnstown is also surrounded by opportunities for higher education, with SUNY Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Skidmore College, University at Albany, Union College, Siena College and SUNY Cobleskill all within an hour’s drive or less.
Qualifications
The Superintendent of Schools will be a future-ready and collaborative leader who:
- Is personable, approachable and charismatic; engages with all stakeholders.
- Is respectful and empathetic.
- Acts with honesty and integrity.
- Is a transparent communicator and active listener.
- Possesses high emotional intelligence.
- Will be visibly present in all school buildings, events, and the community.
- Will be a visionary leader with innovative and forward thinking ideas who can help improve measurable student achievement.
- Supports and continues to prioritize social and emotional learning and mental health needs of students and staff.
- Possesses financial and operational acumen, with experience and knowledge in school district budgeting and finance.
- Makes wise and equitable resource decisions to target the greatest/emerging areas of need.
- Is aware of the socioeconomic diversity of the district and community; possesses an understanding of a district that was once larger.
- Values the highly prized personnel of the district; embraces team members as a family.
- Maintains high standards for student and staff success.
- Understands the importance of deep rooted school and community traditions.
- Is open-minded and collaborative; trusts staff member decision making abilities.
2024-25 Budget Information
On Tuesday, May 21 2024, the Greater Johnstown School District community approved the district’s $43,488,975 budget proposal for the 2024-25 school year by a vote of 357-180, a margin of 67%.
The plan represents a spending increase of 3.00% ($1,266,669) and called for a 4.26% tax levy increase ($500,818), which was at the District’s maximum allowable levy under state law. This marks the fourth straight year that the tax levy increase was within the cap, requiring just a simple majority (more than 50%) to pass.
To learn more, visit the district’s budget webpage