Mar 8, 2016 By Linda Harkcom for The 4 min read

John Walton of Mount Pleasant Township was sworn in as the newest member of the Mount Pleasant Area School Board Monday night.

Walton, who was sworn in by District Judge Roger Eckles, was chosen last week by the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas to fill the seat left vacant by former board member Richard Albright, who resigned in January. The decision was left up to the judges after the board failed to agree on a candidate at the February meeting.

“I’m a graduate of Mount Pleasant, and my children are graduates of Mount Pleasant, and that’s a result of what has happened on this board, and I’m looking forward to being part of it,” Walton said.

George Hare, along with other board members, welcomed Walton.

“I’m very comfortable and confident in having Mr. Walton join us,” Hare said.

Walton, Hare and Mount Pleasant Recreational Soccer president Shawn Ulery asked the board if there was a way for the organization to utilize school district facilities for their travel soccer games. Hare explained to the board that the organization can no longer utilize the fields at Willows Park in Mount Pleasant because Carload Express, parent company of Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad, built a fence that separated the soccer fields from the main parking area.

Hare suggested that the organization be allowed to utilize the stadium facilities because most of the parents of the organization are taxpayers in the district. Without an official vote, each board member agreed with the decision. While historically the board did not permit events at the school facilities on Sundays, President Robert Gumbita Sr. and Secretary Annette R. Anderson both said the board has come to the decision to look at each event on a case-by-case basis.

“We recognize that there are only so many hours in a day and many activities that children want to be able to participate in,” Anderson said.

Terry Remaley, a district employee, appeared before the board as a private citizen, asking the board to consider letting the junior high teams also play on the turf in the stadium. She explained now they must play on the grass. She was told the matter would be looked in to as to what conflicts there might be at the times of those games.

The board approved the final version of the “Eligibility of Nonresident Students to the Pupils” section of the policy manual. Students living outside of the district may attend Mount Pleasant schools, if approved by the superintendent, for a tuition of $8,606 per year for elementary students and $10,609 per year for secondary students.

The opportunity for students in the high school to participate in dual enrollment with local colleges including Westmoreland County Community College was also discussed. Director Charles C. Holt suggested a meeting be held to educate parents on this benefit.

The board authorized the administration to notify the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit that the Mount Pleasant Area School District will transfer several special education classes and staff to the district for the 2016-2017 school year. The classes and teacher involved include: Life-skills classes and learning-support classes at Norvelt and the Junior Senior High School as well as emotional-support classes at Norvelt. Superintendent Dr. Timothy Gabauer said those classes and their teachers, Melissa Flock, Francine Brown, Ed Drury, Sherry Johnston, Leigh Langgle, Jackie Reed and Jennifer Bradly, will now become part of the school district.

“We are picking up teachers that we were paying for already through the Intermediate Unit,” Hare explained.

Gabauer said the teachers pay will increase slightly by becoming employees of the district, and their years of service at the Intermediate Unit will be matched.

The board also approved the following agreements with the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit: Special education supervisor services effective 2015-16 at a rate of $515 per day for 78 days and social work services for 2015-16 at a rate of $65 per hour on an as-needed basis. Assistant Superintendent Anthony DeMaro said the contracts were something the district has had in place with the Intermediate Unit.

Remaley asked when the district last had an audit and if another audit will be conducted soon. Business manager Brent Filak said an audit was completed near the end of the calendar year and that the district may be having an independent audit depending on some legal and personnel issues that cannot be discussed.