Apr. 18—VERNON TOWNSHIP — Crawford Central School Board on Monday approved the hiring of a new business manager for the district and transitioned leaders at Meadville Area Middle School from interim to regular status.

Board members voted 8-0 in favor of hiring Austin Stofferahn as business manager. Board member Ryan Pickering did not attend the meeting.

Stofferahn comes to Crawford Central from a position as business manager of Farrell Area School District in Mercer County, but he is familiar with the area, having grown up at Conneaut Lake and attended Conneaut Area Senior High.

"I'm excited to get back home," Stofferahn said after the meeting.

Stofferahn will replace Guy O'Neill, who is retiring after 17 years as the district's business manager. His last day is June 30. Stofferahn's starting day has not been determined.

It's the second consecutive year that Stofferahn has replaced a retiring business manager: When he started at Farrell in July 2022, he similarly replaced a previous business manager who had retired, according to The (Sharon) Herald. Taking O'Neill's place not only brings Stofferahn closer to home, it comes with a significant increase in pay. According to the Herald, he was paid $85,000 per year by Farrell. With Crawford Central, he will make $110,000 per year.

The Crawford Central position also comes with increased responsibilities: While Farrell consists of just two schools and 666 students, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Crawford Central has eight schools and about 3,217 students.

Board members also voted unanimously to remove the "interim" that had preceded the titles of Meadville Area Middle School Principal Jon Frye and Assistant Principal Stephanie Sandrock since the board appointed them to those positions in October.

Frye had previously been assistant principal and Sandrock had been a literacy instruction coach at the school. They were promoted following the resignation of Scott Lynch from his position as principal.

"Thank you to Jon Frye and Stephanie for stepping in," Superintendent Tom Washington said in his concluding remarks. "They did a fantastic job and our group were excited to bring them in full-time."

Frye will be paid an annual salary of $129,642. Sandrock will be paid $93,422 per year.

Both salaries are determined by the district's administrator compensation plan. In January, the board approved a five-year extension of the plan stretching from 2023-24 to 2027-28. The plan, which covers principals and department directors but not the superintendent and business manager, includes five consecutive years of 3 percent raises for the district's administrators and principals.

The plan also offers tuition reimbursement of $500 per credit and contributions of $500 for individuals or $1,000 for families for the first three years of the contract if the employee elects the district's qualified high deductible health plan. Post-retirement employees also receive health insurance contributions of $400 from the district.

Board members voted 8-0 to approve the contract at their Jan. 23 meeting. Pickering did not attend that meeting.

Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at mcrowley@meadvilletribune.com.