FAYETTEVILLE — Steve Janski, 39, of Heber Springs was named athletic director for the Fayetteville School District.
He was named to the position at a meeting Thursday of the Fayetteville School Board. The board unanimously named Janski to the position after a recommendation by Superintendent Vicki Thomas.
At A Glance
Hudson Recognition
Tim Hudson, Fayetteville School Board president, has been recognized by the Arkansas School Boards Association as a Pinnacle Board Member. This is the highest award for an individual school board member in Arkansas. The Pinnacle Award is bestowed on board members who have accumulated at least 200 hours of continuing education through workshops, seminars or other development activities designed to improve their effectiveness as members of the local school board.
Source: Staff Report
Janski will assume his new job as soon as he is released from his contract with Heber Springs, said Greg Mones, human resources director. Mones said he expects Janski will be on board in Fayetteville by Jan. 3.
Janski has been the head football coach and athletic director in Heber Springs since 2005. Before Heber Springs, he was the tight end coach and recruiting coordinator at East Carolina University from 2003-05
He served as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Arkansas from 2000 to 2003. He is a UA graduate and a candidate for a master’s degree in education leadership from Arkansas State University next summer.
Janski’s annual salary will be $80,000 a year, Mones said. He will work on a six-month contract which will expire June 30, 2014, the same date all contracts with certified personnel expire.
He was one of three finalists for the job, which included Kyle Adams, Fayetteville High School basketball coach, and Kerwin Dees, former athletic director in Prairie Grove and Siloam Springs who has been an athletic director at a private school in Kentucky.
Thirty-six people submitted applications for the position to replace Barry Gebhart, who resigned in October following his arrest in connection with Internet stalking of a child. Charges are pending against Gebhart with the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office. His arraignment is scheduled in February, 2014.
High school principal Steve Jacoby presented Janski a purple commemorative bulldog statue after the vote.
Janski said he was “honored, humbled and excited” to join the Fayetteville district.
He praised the district’s academics and athletics, noting, “This is the most prestigious school in Arkansas and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
He was accompanied to the meeting by his wife, Meridith; four children and his mother.
In other business, the board passed a new policy identifying the general procedures governing the rental and use of school facilities, including the the new Commons and Performing Arts Center at the high school. The new policy covers all buildings and includes a rental fee schedule.
The board also approved a revision to the policy governing the purchase of commodities. The revision further defines professional services as a commodity and states that the purchase of all professional services must receive prior approval by the board if the purchase price exceeds $50,000. If an emergency exists, the policy allows the superintendent to approve a purchase up to $100,000. Emergency purchases must be disclosed to the board.
This revision covers the cost to professional development services from private contractors.