MIFFLINTOWN — Thanks to a pre-college program agreement with Lackawanna College in Scranton, students in the Juniata County School District can now earn college credits for certain high school courses.

The Juniata County School District Board of Directors approved the agreement at its monthly meeting on Thursday night at the administration building in Mifflintown.

“It’s a well-established program,” said Juniata County School District Assistant Superintendent of Schools Ben Fausey at the board’s workshop meeting on Aug. 13. “This is just one more to add to the list.”

The district has similar agreements in place with Harrisburg University and the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport for its students who are sophomores, juniors or seniors.

“It’s possible for students to get an associate degree along with their high school diplomas,” Fausey added.

More information about the pre-college agreement is available at www.jcsdk12.org.

In other business:

Contracts and agreements

The school board approved:

• An agreement with the Hoffman Academy, located in Littlestown, Adams County, to provide educational services for students who are residents of the Juniata County School District.

• A land-use license agreement with Penn State for the establishment of a weather station at Juniata Elementary School.

• An agreement with Clear Concepts Counseling, which is located in both Lewistown and Mifflintown, for the provision of student assistance program-related services.

• A teacher induction/mentor agreement with Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11-Juniata County Early Childhood Services.

• Memorandum of understanding with the Pennsylvania State Police at Lewistown for policies and procedures and to foster a relationship of cooperation and mutual support and to maintain a safe school environment. This is a requirement of the Safe Schools program and must be updated every two years.

• Memorandum of agreement between the Juniata County School District and Juniata County Education Association with regard to salary adjustment and health care benefits.

Donations

The school board approved accepting two donations, totaling $650, from Grace United Methodist Church of Mexico to offset the cost of outstanding lunch accounts for senior students.

Facility-use requests

The school board approved requests by:

• Jessica Morgan, of Juniata High School FFA/Juniata County 4-H, to use the Juniata High School cafeteria for a meeting on Sept. 16, 2025, for no fee.

• Stephanie Diem, of the East Juniata High School class of 2005, to use the East Juniata High School facilities for a class reunion on Oct. 11, 2025, for a fee of $254.95.

Field trips

The school board approved the following field trips:

• Juniata County Marching Band, performance, FNB Field in Harrisburg, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025;

• Juniata High School FFA, PA FFA concession stand operation, Ag Progress Days at Pennsylvania Furnace, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025;

• Juniata High School FFA, safe tractor driving contest, Eastern State Exposition, West Springfield, Mass., Friday, Sept. 12 through Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025;

• Juniata High School FFA, career development events, Huntingdon, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025;

• Juniata High School FFA, Fourth Grade Ag Tour, McAlisterville, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025;

• Juniata High School FFA, leadership conference, Altoona, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025;

• *East Juniata High School Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition and Introduction to Theater Students, Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, Manheim, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025.

*Indicates trips for which transportation is not funded by the district.

Personnel matters

The school board approved:

Resignations of Stanley D. Vandenheuval, part-time custodian at East Juniata High School, effective July 12, 2025; and Rachael E. Lamey, teacher at Juniata Elementary School, to be determined;

Hiring of Lauri A. Seiler, Level 2 paraprofessional at East Juniata High School, at a rate of $19.22 per hour with an effective date of Aug. 11, 2025, to replace Mercedes Trautman who resigned; and Paulina Armstrong, Level 1 paraprofessional at Juniata Elementary School, at a rate of $16.14 per hour with an effective date of Aug. 20, 2025, to replace Kierstyn Dickinson who resigned;

Hiring of Emily M. Robinson and Rachel L. Houser as substitute nurses; Robert Hart and Brandon Snyder as substitute multicrafters; and Candy J. Spade as a substitute cleaner;

Mentoring positions with Jennifer Nace for Bailey Imes; Johnna Towsey for Malin Kint; Stephanie Bonnell for Maria Duker; and Renee Elsasser for Emma Hogan;

Hiring of student interns: Gretchin Dessin, at East Juniata Elementary School; Ryder Smith, Sophia Pinto and Lauren Ames, at Juniata Elementary School; and Drew Bennett, at Tuscarora Junior High School.

The board learned Preston Fosselman will transfer from an East Juniata Elementary School part-time cleaning position to an East Juniata High School part-time cleaning position to replace Vandenheuval.

Supplemental positions

The school board approved:

Elizabeth Sperlich, guidance department chair;

Marcus Brothers, secondary special education department chair;

Krista Snyder, elementary specials department chair;

Jacqueline Heidenreich, secondary ELA department chair;

Bradley Eargle, secondary specials department chair;

Brittany Rex, elementary ELA department chair;

Stephanie Wagner, elementary mathematics department chair;

Laura Toth, secondary science department chair;

Kelly Beward, elementary special education department chair;

Rodney Feltman, secondary mathematics department chair;

Simon Cameron, secondary social studies department chair;

Stephanie Bonnell, Bobbie Kerstetter, Trisha Hoffman, Krista Kauffman, Stephanie Hackenberg, Elizabeth Sperlich, Simon Cameron and Kimberly Stuck, East Juniata High School SAP team members.

Other business

The school board approved:

Improvement plans for the 2025-26 school year for Juniata High School and Juniata Elementary School.

Marcus Brothers as the East Juniata High School senior class advisor.

Heard presentations from Terry Curran, with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Award; and Angela Bryner, of Juniata County Education Association with a $4,000 donation for Wings of Kindness.

Director Ray Page was recognized with a certificate for his 10 years of service on the school board.

Next meeting

The school board will hold its monthly workshop meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at the administration office in Mifflintown.