Kiski Area appoints Jason Lohr as acting superintendent

Kiski Area School Board appointed a member of the district’s administrative team as acting superintendent Monday.

Jason Lohr, who has served as assistant to the superintendent for K-12 education, administration and federal programs since 2016, was named to guide the district while the school board searches for a replacement for Superintendent Tim Scott.

The district will pay Lohr an additional $3,000 a month for the coming school year or until the next superintendent begins his tenure.

Scott, who is retiring, attended his final school board meeting on Monday. It was held virtually.

Board President Christine Heinle thanked Scott on behalf of the board for “all the progress and outstanding achievements” that have happened at Kiski Area since he was hired as superintendent in June 2015.

Scott thanked the board for its support.

“The commitment by the board to the students of Kiski Area has just been outstanding,” Scott said.

Lohr began his career at Kiski Area as a high school sociology and U.S. history teacher in June 2000. Nine years later, he was appointed an assistant principal intern at the intermediate school. He became assistant principal in the spring of 2010 and then principal in July of that year.

He remained in that position until 2016, when he was named assistant to the superintendent.

A graduate of Hempfield High School, he earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Toccoa Falls College in Georgia and a master’s in school administration with a K-12 principal certification from California University of Pennsylvania. Lohr completed his doctorate in administration and leadership studies and earned his superintendent’s letter of eligibility from Indiana University of Pennsylvania last year.

Before coming to Kiski Area, Lohr was a special education teacher at Charles Town Junior High in Charles Town, W.Va.

In April, the school board hired a search firm, Templeton Advantage of Perry County, to conduct the search to replace Scott, who announced his retirement in March. A Templeton official said the search, which started May 1, would take about three months.