The Harrisburg School District gathered Tuesday, Dec. 2 for a reorganization and general meeting.
At its last meeting of the calendar year on Tuesday, the Harrisburg School District Board hired an acting principal for Harrisburg High School-John Harris Campus.
Beginning Wednesday, longtime school district employee Roma Benjamin will temporarily fill the post, which has seen significant turnover in recent years.
Former John Harris principal Christopher Sattele, who began in October 2024, is leaving the district for another position. Superintendent Benjamin Henry said the district will conduct a national search this February for a permanent principal.
“We want to have a little bit more time to go through the process of finding a more permanent person for this role, versus moving someone in immediately,” Henry said of the appointment.
The district approved Benjamin’s employment contract, including a $138,000 salary, with an 8-1 vote. School board member Danielle Robinson voted no. She did not note her reason.
Prior to this role, Benjamin had been working as a support supervisor within the district. She served as principal at Rowland Academy last year, but was placed on administrative leave in February after being accused of harassment for allegedly shoving a 13-year-old student. The case has since been closed.
Board member Jaime Johnsen noted that at a community meeting with board members and the John Harris community, community members reacted to the idea of Benjamin filling the acting role “very” positively.
Board member Brian Carter confirmed with the superintendent that the board would get quarterly updates from Benjamin on the state of John Harris and expressed concerns about whether the high school needs to implement additional student safety measures, as its last principal indicated.
“We will have to have some tough conversations around safety at the high school,” Henry acknowledged.
Board vice president Autumn Anderson echoed this.
“I do think that it’s time for us to revisit that and start building out a plan of what the safety and security looks like. And the sooner we can do that, the better,” she said.
The board also used its last meeting of the year to review its general budget for 2025-2026 with updated state funding numbers. The district had previously estimated what state subsidies it expected to receive due to Pennsylvania’s lengthy budget impasse, explained Chief Financial Officer Marcia Stokes in a presentation during the meeting.
“This is really as a result of the state’s delay,” she said of the budget amendment.
Stokes further explained that the state budget, which passed Nov. 12, had added an additional $3.2 million to the district’s general fund budget, bringing its total to $216.3 million.
For the 2025-26 school year, the state gave Harrisburg $88.1 million for basic education, $8.7 million for special education, and $18 million in grant funding.
“This presentation actually makes me a little happy,” said Robinson.
One negative Stokes noted, however, was that because the budget did not pass in June, the district lost out on more than $400,000 in interest on the state money.
“That is definitely money we will never be able to recoup,” Stokes said.
She added that the Pennsylvania Department of Education has yet to release tuition rates for cyber and charter schools, which will ultimately impact the budget as well.
Prior to the board’s general meeting, the board moved unanimously to retain Roslyn Copeland as board president and Anderson as vice president at its annual reorganization meeting. They will serve in these roles through 2026.
Magisterial District Judge Hanif Johnson also swore in Carter, Copeland, Johnsen and Robinson for additional four-year terms. Board member Annie Hughes was sworn in for an additional two-year term. All were reelected to the board in the November general election.
School board member Brian Carter was sworn in for another four-year term.
As the school district exited state receivership in June, this school year marks the first time since 2019 that board members have full voting power.
For more information about the Harrisburg School District Board of Directors, visit their website.
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
