Nohra resigns as Liberty superintendent
LIBERTY — After nearly 28 years in education, Liberty Superintendent Joseph Nohra said it is time to pursue other interests and spend more time with his family, which includes two teenage sons.
The Liberty Board of Education accepted his resignation during a special meeting Saturday. His resignation is effective Aug. 2, but he will stay in the district as an administrative consultant through Jan. 25 to assist in the transition to a new administration, according to a news release from the board.
The news release also states effective Aug. 3, an interim superintendent will be in place for the 2020-21 school year.
“I want to follow in my father’s footsteps and pursue becoming a deacon like he was,” Nohra said of his late father, who was a 40-year deacon at St. Maron Church in Youngstown.
“Taking classes to become a deacon while also being a full-time superintendent is tough, and I really feel it is time to move on from education, both for my emotional and physical well-being.”
Nohra, a 1990 graduate of Ursuline High School and lifelong resident of Liberty, has been superintendent in Liberty since Aug. 1, 2017. Prior to that, he was superintendent in Struthers for nearly six years.
Before becoming superintendent in Struthers, Nohra spent nearly 18 years coaching, teaching and being a principal at various districts, including in Howland and at St. Thomas which is one of the six high schools of the Youngstown Catholic Diocese.
“It was a mutual agreement,” Nohra said of his resignation.
He said he will miss the students the most.
“The kids in Liberty are the warmest and most friendly kids I have ever met,” Nohra said.
During his three years in Liberty, many new programs and facility improvements occurred, including a robotics program, K-9 dogs sponsored by the district, increased programs for students with special needs and additional numbers of Chromebooks for students, according to the board’s statement.
“During this difficult time and with this leadership change, the board’s priority is to work to bring students back to school in the fall under guidelines from the Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Department of Health, and to restart quality educational programs with the help and support of the parents and Liberty community,” Liberty Board of Education President Calvin Jones said in an emailed statement.
“The district is in a good position and has an excellent leadership group in place and a team of employees who are dedicated to serving the students and families of the Liberty community.”
In April, voters defeated a 2.5-mill permanent improvement levy that would have replaced the 4.2-mill bond issue that expires in December. The bond issue originally was approved in 1997 and was used to build the high school.
The bond will collect $925,000 this year. The new levy would have generated $560,000 per year to fix items such as the parking lots and boilers, and to replace the aging school bus fleet and infrastructure.
The day before the election, the board approved a request by Nohra to cut his salary by $30,000 to avoid having to cut school programs or staff that would have been necessary because of funding decreases brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of July 1, his salary would have decreased from $113,000 to $83,000 for next school year. Jones said he could not comment at this time on how much Nohra will be paid as administrative consultant.