Freeport Area School District seeks applicants for business manager as theirs departs for Plum

Freeport Area School District is looking to replace its departing business manager, who has accepted a position at Plum School District.

Ryan Manzer has served as Freeport Area’s business manager for the past eight years. Before that, he served as assistant director of finance for Pine-Richland School District for three years and as a financial analyst for PPG Industries for about two years.

Plum School Board last week voted unanimously to hire Manzer as its chief financial officer with a starting salary of $135,000.

Plum Superintendent Brendan Hyland said then that the district would work with Freeport Area officials for a smooth transition. He said he hoped to have Manzer working for the district by late July.

Freeport Area Superintendent Ian Magness did not return requests for comment on Manzer’s departure or the district’s hiring plans.

Freeport Area School District posted the job opening for a new business manager on its website. Potential applicants “must be knowledgeable in budgeting, financial planning, cash management, federal and state reporting requirements related to school funding, fund accounting, bidding, negotiations, maintenance and facilities, child accounting, food service, transportation and school construction.”

The district is looking to hire someone with prior accounting experience and a bachelor’s degree.

Candidates can send letters of interest and resumes to the district until its July 9 deadline.

“My wife Lauren, along with our five children, could not be more excited for this opportunity to join a district that is definitely on the move,” Manzer said in a release from Plum School District.

“I believe my experience and an ethics-first approach can continue to guide this district forward, building off of the great foundation that has already been built over the past number of years,” he added. “I was drawn to what I believe is an exceptional team, and also the student-centered environment that was evident throughout the process and my research of the district.”