Penn Hill School District's chief financial officer excited about new opportunity

Former Plum School District business manager John Zahorchak has found a new professional home in a neighboring community.

He was recently hired as Penn Hills School District’s chief financial officer at a starting salary of $150,000.

“I’ve been very familiar with Penn Hills for a long time, and it just felt like it was a good fit,” Zahorchak said after a Jan. 18 finance committee meeting. “I felt very comfortable here right away.”

Zahorchak, 44, started his new job Dec. 1. He took over for business manager Eileen Navish, who retired in late November.

“I wish her the best,” school board president Erin Vecchio said. “She did a good job; enjoy your retirement.”

Zahorchak moved to Plum from Johnstown, where he served as Greater Johnstown School District’s business manager from 2012 to mid-2016. He earned degrees in human resource management from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is an active member of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials.

Zahorchak was hired by Plum School District as director of business affairs at a prorated salary of $98,000 in August 2016. His final salary in the district was $125,000.

He left that district in July 2021 to serve as Sto-Rox School District’s chief recovery officer for the state Department of Education.

Penn Hills School District’s state-appointed chief recovery officer Dan Matsook said he was able to pluck Zahorchak from that position and bring him to Penn Hills.

“We have a level of expertise (in John) that is I think unparalleled because of his work not only in a neighboring district, but as his work as a chief recovery officer,” Matsook said. “To me, that was a big plus to be able to have someone — actually, a colleague — come in and kind of take the reins. Eileen did a fantastic job. She’s handed the baton off to John, and John’s going to take us the next mile or two down the road.”

Matsook was named Penn Hills School District’s financial recovery officer in February 2019.

Zahorchak served on Matsook’s advisory committee when he was forming the district’s recovery plan.

Zahorchak briefly talked with the board at the finance committee meeting about instituting policies or guidelines capping spending on meals for district officials and staff while on conferences and trips, as well as requiring receipts for reimbursement requests.

Board members in attendance said they were in favor of those ideas and were surprised to learn they were not already in place.

“John’s doing a phenomenal job just in the couple months he’s been here,” Vecchio said after the meeting.