Wednesday, February 18, 2015
By Denise Dick
campbell
He’s changing from a Cardinal to a Red Devil, but at least the school initials are the same.
John Young, who was terminated last month from his job as Cardinal Mooney High School principal, was hired in a 5-0 vote Tuesday as interim principal at Campbell Memorial High School.
Young spent part of Tuesday meeting staff and students at his new school. His new job starts officially today and runs through June 30. He’ll work on an as-needed basis and earn $289 per day, according to the board resolution.
“It was wonderful,” he said. “I went into the classrooms and the kids were so welcoming.”
Young said he’s interested in the position longer term if it becomes available.
“It was such a warm feeling,” he said of meeting students and teachers at the school.
Campbell is a lot like Liberty, where he served as principal for 14 years before joining the Mooney administration in 2011, Young said.
“They have the same types of students,” he said. “That’s why I’m so comfortable coming here. They made me feel so welcome and at home.”
Young said that Ron Iarussi, superintendent of the Mahoning County Educational Service Center, who used to work for Young when Young was in Brookfield, suggested him to Campbell Superintendent Matthew Bowen as an interim principal.
“Mr. Young has always been an instructional leader,” Bowen said in a statement. “He is a man of great character and is able to work well with students, parents and staff.”
Jacquelyn Hampton, Campbell principal since 2011, was placed on paid administrative leave last week after allegations of possible misconduct involving a student and alleged failure to comply with mandatory reporting.
Last week, Shannon Pavlansky-Wojtowicz, 30, a former teacher at the high school, was charged with sexual battery and surrendered to police. She is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a male student.
Word of Young’s new job began to spread to students at his former employer.
“I’ve been getting texts from kids from Mooney,” he said.
Officials from Mooney and the Diocese of Youngstown removed Young from his Mooney principal job after he declined to either resign or retire, Young has said.
A statement last month from the diocese said that with the decision made last spring to grow Mooney in its current location, the Catholic school’s office “determined that in order to take academic programs to new levels of excellence, a change was necessary.”
Young wasn’t terminated because of any alleged illegal or immoral activity.
Before joining the Mooney administrative staff, Young, a Mooney alumnus, served 14 years as Liberty High School principal and 23 years as a Brookfield schools principal. His career in education began in 1979.