Greensburg Salem business manager leaving for job with Mt. Pleasant schools

Jeff Himler, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

Sep. 17—Greensburg Salem School Board is looking to fill two positions at the district's central administration office, with the pending departure of its business manager J.R. Dzurica.

The board meanwhile is considering candidates for superintendent as Ken Bissell, the coordinator of secondary education, fills in as acting superintendent.

Dzurica also serves as secretary to the school board. The board accepted his resignation this week after he was hired as business manager at Mt. Pleasant Area School District.

"I wasn't actively looking for anything," Dzurica said. "The opportunity came out of the blue. And when it did, I couldn't pass it up. I grew up in Mt. Pleasant."

Dzurica's departure date and details of his new contract are yet to be determined. He'll be replacing Allison Willis, who recently was hired to oversee human resources at Franklin Regional School District in Murrysville.

Dzurica said it may be at least two months before he makes the transition between districts.

"There's a lot of work I still need to do here (at Greensburg Salem)," he said. "Our annual audit is going on."

Dzurica has worked in the education field for about a decade. He was hired at Greensburg Salem in August 2019, at a salary of $105,000, after serving as the business manager at Belle Vernon Area School District.

Greensburg Salem launched a search for a new superintendent after Gary Peiffer left at the end of June to serve as superintendent at Chartiers-Houston School District in Washington County.

The Greensburg Salem school board planned to begin interviews this month, drawing from a field of 13 applicants for the superintendent slot, board President Ron Mellinger Jr. said.

The board this week retroactively approved advertising for an elementary teacher. District administrators recommended adding the faculty position to help reduce large kindergarten class sizes at Metzgar Elementary. There are as many as 28 kindergarteners per teacher at the Salem school.

School directors additionally accepted resignations from Jason Thompson, a guidance counselor at Amos K. Hutchinson Elementary, and Brent Gnesda, a senior high custodian, and approved advertising to fill those vacancies.

The board voted in favor of a five-year agreement that will provide salary increases collectively totaling $70,000 to 14 district administrators from this past July 1 through June 30, 2026.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .