A teacher’s aide who worked with Johnstown High School’s winter color guard last year has now been given full responsibility for the team.
The school board voted Tuesday to give the director position to Christine Van Valkenburg, who works at Warren Street Elementary School.
She is replacing Daniel Jones, a district music teacher who until this year ran the color guard, marching band and jazz band. The school board removed him from those positions in July without explanation.
The board subsequently came under public pressure to reinstate Jones and ultimately appointed him to an unpaid assistant band director position. James Morton, a district music theory teacher and friend of Jones, was appointed marching band director.
Parents and students had hoped the school board would allow Jones to return to the color guard, but board President Robert Curtis said that was out of the question.
“Things happened,” he said after Tuesday’s vote. “Personnel things. I’d prefer to look toward the future, not the past.”
He said Van Valkenburg was chosen primarily because she works for the district and was willing to take the position.
The district is still searching for someone other than Jones who can handle the jazz band director job.
Curtis said the district does not yet have a viable candidate.
“We’ve pretty much struck out. We haven’t been able to find anybody either internally. We contacted some retired music teachers and some other folks, and we’re still struggling to find somebody to pick that up,” he said.
Categories: Schenectady County
