Shared Decision Making Committee

GJSD Reinvigorates Shared Decision Making Committee for 22-23 School Year

Ad Hoc Committees Assembled to Discuss Reopening Knox
& Grade Reconfiguration, Athletic League Membership,
and Future of District Transportation

DECEMBER 6, 2022 (JOHNSTOWN, NY) – The Shared Decision Making Committee (SDM) for the Greater Johnstown School District has been reinvigorated for the 2022-2023 school year, in preparation for several important District topics that require stakeholder input and feedback. Stakeholders will meet within a specified timeline to discuss topics to include the reopening of Knox for elementary instruction and the subsequent grade reconfiguration of other District buildings; interscholastic athletic programs and conference membership; and the future of transportation for the GJSD.

“As its name implies, the Shared Decision Making process ensures that those affected by a decision are included in the decision making process,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. William Crankshaw said. “It’s a critical tool that allows us to collect important stakeholder input in a meaningful way, and provides an added layer of confidence for the community that District decisions are being made in a collaborative way.”

New York State Department of Education requires every school district to have a SDM Committee. Members of the GJSD SDM Committee were selected according to the  District’s SDM bylaws, and members have been asked to fulfill two-year terms. The committee includes representatives from various stakeholder groups with the intention of hearing input from different perspectives. The committee has held two organizational meetings (November 10 and November 30), with two more discussion meetings scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on both January 9 and January 26 in the Knox Board Room.

District-wide SDM Committee Members for 2023-24 include:

  • Dr. William Crankshaw, Superintendent
  • Alicia D. Koster, Assistant Superintendent
  • Scott Hale, JAA Representative
  • Bobbie Jo Senzio, CSEA Representative
  • Kimberly Preston, JTA Member
  • Michelle Abel, JTA Member
  • Jackie Strouse, JTA Member
  • Meghan Heroth, JEPTA President
  • Erin Fazzio, JPTSA Co-President
  • Jessica McClements, Community Member
  • Landon Laird, Student
  • Mollie Kortz, Student

The SDM Committee has jointly appointed an Ad Hoc Committee for three specific topics — (1) reopening of Knox for elementary instruction and the subsequent grade reconfiguration of other District buildings; (2) interscholastic athletic programs and conference membership; (3) and the future of transportation for the GJSD. The Ad Hoc Committees will be charged with researching and discussing the topic over a series of meetings. Committee members will provide their findings to the District’s SDM Team and to the Superintendent, who in turn, will make his recommendations to the Board of Education for their consideration. 

SDM Committee and SDM Ad Hoc Committee meetings are open for the public to attend and observe the process.

At the SDM Committee’s November 10 meeting, members worked together to review the District’s SDM Handbook and suggest edits, ahead of the Board of Education’s recertification of the Handbook at their November 17 business meeting. The BOE-approved SDM Handbook can be found here.

At the SDM Committee’s November 30 meeting, work started on assembling the three separate Ad Hoc Committees. SDM Committee members were able to nominate GJSD community members to serve on each Ad Hoc Committee. Meeting dates and times were set, based on the timeline of each decision before the committees. 

District-wide SDM Committee Meetings

2023-2024

Meetings take place in the JHS Media Center:

2022-2023

SDM Ad Hoc Committee members include:

Code of Conduct

2023-24

Meetings take place in the JHS Media Center as follows:

2023-34 Code of Conduct Committee Members:

  • Scott Hale, JAA Member/Facilitator
  • Robert Kraemer, JAA Member/Facilitator
  • Nicole Panton, Director of Curriculum & Instruction
  • Austin Heroth, Director of Technology
  • Brian VanNostrand, Physical Education & Health and Athletics & Extracurricular Programs Director
  • Nancy Lisicki, JTA President
  • Chad Swanson, JTA Member
  • Kimberly Park, JTA Member
  • Amanda Bishop, JTA Member
  • Rebecca Wager, JTA Member
  • Caitlyn Murphy, JTA Member
  • MacKenzie Sweet, JTA Member
  • Jaclyn Whitman, JTA Member
  • Tracy Ringer, JTA Member
  • Michelle Abel, JTA Member
  • Jamie Kohout, JTA Member
  • Sean Russo, JTA Member
  • Bobbie Jo Senzio, CSEA Member
  • Kaye Houtz, CSEA Member
  • Kerri Hauser, School Resource Officer
  • Alandra Oddy, Student
  • Diya Patel, Student
  • Declan McClements, Student
  • Meghan Heroth, JEPTA President
  • Jessica Henry McClements, Community Member
  • Peggy DeBlock, Community Member
  • Vinny McCallum, Community Member
  • Kirsten Hall, Community Member

The Future of District Transportation

2023-24

Meet in the District Conference Room as follows:

2022-2023

Meet in Knox Library as follows:

2023-24 Transportation Committee Members:

  • Alicia D. Koster, Asst. Superintendent/Facilitator
  • Julia Barringer, Transportation Director
  • Jennifer Faas, Senior Typist, Transportation
  • Nicole Lent, SPED Director
  • Cory Cotter, JAA Representative
  • Laura Lakata, JTA Representative
  • Amber Rumrill, CSEA Representative
  • Chad Kortz, Parent
  • Jaelyn Christman, Student

GJSD Interscholastic Athletics

Meet in Knox Board Room as follows:

2022-23 Athletics Committee Members:

  • Mark Fish, Professional Facilitator
  • Dr. William Crankshaw, Superintendent
  • Robert Kraemer, JAA Representative
  • Brian Van Nostrand, Jr., PHAED
  • Emily Cox, JTA Representative
  • Scott Chamberlain, JTA Representative
  • Pamela Donohue, CSEA Representative
  • Jonathan Swartwout, Coach
  • Nicole Naselli, Coach
  • Dave Wiltey, Community Member
  • Emily Cheney, PTA Representative
  • Jennifer VonderHeide, PTA Representative
  • Ryan Hoyt, Student
  • Jena Barker, Student

Knox Reopening and Grade Level Reconfiguration

Meet in Knox Board Room as follows:

2022-23 Knox Reopening Committee Members:

  • Dr. Matthew Lewis, JAA Representative/Facilitator
  • Dr. William Crankshaw, Superintendent
  • Alicia D. Koster, Assistant Superintendent
  • David Wood, Director of Facilities
  • Nicole Panton, Dir. of Curriculum & Instruction
  • Nancy Lisicki, JTA Representative (PK-1)
  • Kimberly Preston, JTA Representative (2-4)
  • Quinn Swartwout, JTA Representative (5-7)
  • Jennifer Sweeney, JTA Representative (8-12)
  • Bobbi Jo Senzio, CSEA Representative
  • Bobbi Jo Haverly, PTA Representative
  • Jessica McClements, Community Member
  • Max Spritzer, City Official
  • Chief Dave Gilbo, JPD
  • Arden Hammonds, Student
  • Tara Sweeney, Student

This Shared Decision Making page of the website has been added as a resource for the community to stay in the loop on the work of the committee, and have the ability to access meeting agendas and minutes for both the SDM Committee and the Ad Hoc Committees.