Johnstown educator tapped as Penns Valley district’s next superintendent
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- Penns Valley’s school board voted 7-2 to hire Shane Hazenstab as superintendent.
- Hazenstab’s contract stretches through June 2029, earning a $160,000 salary.
- Some community members raised concerns over the search process.
For the first time in nearly 20 years, a new superintendent will lead the Penns Valley Area School District.
The district’s school board voted 7-2 at a special voting meeting Tuesday to approve the hiring of Shane Hazenstab as its next chief administrator. He has served as the superintendent of Johnstown’s Conemaugh Valley School District since January 2019.
While board members applauded Hazenstab’s experience and qualifications, some community members in attendance questioned the hiring process and expressed disappointment that the district did not make an internal hire.
Hazenstab, who will earn his doctorate of education in leadership from Vanderbilt University in July, brings more than two decades of experience in education to the district after previously serving as a middle school counselor and a principal. He hopes his background growing up in a rural school district will translate well to the Penns Valley area.
“It’s an opportunity to use 24 years in the field and the experiences I’ve had growing up in a rural school district,” Hazenstab told the Centre Daily Times. “I attended the Spring Cove School District, and my kids grew up there. That’s what I know: the rural, small town values and hard work, the compassion for kids. We’re here to go in every day, give them an honest day’s work and do our best, care about each other and do it again tomorrow.”
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the Conemaugh Valley School District instructed 682 students during the 2024-25 school year — just about half of the 1,271 students in Penns Valley’s district at that time. Hazenstab’s district in Johnstown consists of an elementary school and a high school.
Hazenstab resides in Roaring Spring, where he raised his three children. His son graduated from Penn State, where his daughter currently studies. The newly appointed superintendent’s youngest daughter graduated from high school last week and will head to Penn State in the fall, adding a touch of convenience to the family’s move to the Penns Valley area.
Hazenstab said he hopes to familiarize himself with Penns Valley without removing the many values and traditions that make it a special place.
“My job coming in is to learn about this place and integrate myself the best I can,” Hazenstab said. “In my mind, change happens from the inside out. Some of the concerns raised tonight come from people who don’t want someone to turn Penns Valley into State College or something like that. I’ll come in and listen, and after I understand, then we can talk about the best ways to move forward in a positive way.”
Though he plans to begin visiting the district’s schools and offices next week, Hazenstab’s tenure as Penn Valley’s superintendent will officially begin on Aug. 4, according to the employment agreement posted online. His contract, which stretches through June 30, 2029, includes a $160,000 annual salary with potential performance-based raises available.
How we got here
Penns Valley began searching for its next superintendent following the departure of Brian Griffith, who retired in April after serving as the district’s top administrator for nearly 20 years.
In March, the district’s school board hired the Williamsport-based BLaST Intermediate Unit 17 to assist the ongoing search for Penns Valley’s next superintendent. The unit, whose name plays on its services to the Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan and Tioga county region, received an $8,500 contract from the district to help establish priorities, connect with candidates and write interview questions.
Fifteen candidates applied for the job, according to Vincent Nicosia, the board’s vice president who effectively led the four-member search committee. That group whittled down the applicants to a pool of six semifinalists, though two were removed from consideration due to undisclosed personal and professional obligations.
The board committee unanimously selected two finalists for the role and tasked them with answering scenario-based questions that put them in the shoes of the district’s future superintendent. Select teachers, administrators and staff members were invited to sit in on these final interviews to share feedback before the board reached a consensus on its preferred candidate.
“In the end, we had a sound, objective process,” Nicosia said. “I stand by it, and I’ll die on that hill. It was a hard decision, but I think we brought forward the best candidate we have for Penns Valley.”
Domer Smeltzer, the board president, said he encouraged his colleagues on the board to unify behind the majority’s preferred candidate so that the district could move forward with a clear vision. Smeltzer noted that his top pick during the selection process was not Hazenstab, but he is committed to supporting him as the district’s next superintendent.
Community critiques search process
During the special voting meeting’s public comment session, several community members addressed the school board and argued Penns Valley should hire from within and promote Dustin Dalton, the district’s director of instruction and data analysis. All six speakers described him as a passionate, foundational administrator who wears many hats in Penns Valley’s schools and who exemplifies what they believed was right leader for the district.
Corby Woodring, a 2016 Penns Valley graduate, told the board he would not have made it through high school without Dalton, whom he described as an endlessly selfless mentor for students. Like others who spoke, Woodring criticized the board for seeking outside help in finding its next superintendent and passing over what he views as the most qualified, local and trusted candidate.
“Earlier, for 30 minutes, we sat here listening to [you] rubbing pennies together about spending money on school resource officers,” said Woodring, referencing a work session discussion earlier that evening. “Nobody seemed to care about that when we spent thousands and thousands of taxpayers dollars for a third-party agency for something that didn’t need to leave the district in the first place.”
“There’s a long list of names that were in this school district that are no longer in this district, representing school districts elsewhere in the commonwealth,” Woodring continued. “Do not let Dustin Dalton’s name be the next name added to that list.”
Community members who spoke also criticized the board’s surveys, with some describing them as mere “boxes to check” during the search process. According to Nicosia, the district received 177 responses to its community survey out of roughly 12,000 district constituents. Seventy-two staff members responded to a separate staff survey.
Some who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting said they were not aware of the community survey and argued the district did not publicize it enough. The survey was circulated online and shared in some local publications and newsletters.
Board member Kimberly Domin, who joined Daniel Hall as the only votes against Hazenstab’s appointment, said she could not support the motion following a search process that left her feeling “frustrated, concerned and, at times, deeply disappointed,” citing undisclosed actions that occurred during executive sessions. She also argued community feedback was not properly considered.
“My greatest frustration, however, is this: We asked for your input. We conducted surveys and received feedback from a wide range of stakeholders throughout our community. We had staff sit in on the interviews and provide feedback about candidates. But in my opinion, much of that feedback has not been meaningfully considered by the decision that sits before us tonight. I believe many of your voices have gone unheard,” Domin said.
Hazenstab, the new superintendent, said he looks forward to working with Penns Valley’s community to support its school district for years to come.
“You see all these people here tonight, and there’s a lot of passion,” Hazenstab said. “People feel very strongly about this place, and I don’t fault them for that. That’s what makes communities succeed, having people who really care. You latch onto that and make sure you’re moving in the right direction.”
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