School board reorganizes, seats elected directors
CONNELLSVILLE – Two long time educators moved from the classroom to the Connellsville Area School District board of directors during Thursday’s annual reorganization meeting. Newly elected directors Thomas Dolde and Richard Galand, along with returning board members Kenneth “Chip” Nicholson, Francis Mongell and Kevin Lape were sworn into office by board solicitor Linda Cordaro.
Dolde and Galand replace former board members Ann Watson and Karen Blocker. Watson did not seek re-election and Blocker was defeated in her bid for a second term in office.
Galand said he was looking forward to his four-year term.
“I think we have a good administration and a good board,” he said. “I know sometimes there is disagreement, but it’s good to disagree once in awhile.
“It’s part of the free and democratic process.”
In its first official action, the board elected director David Goldblum to serve as president of the panel by a 6-to-3 vote. They named Charles Wilson as vice president.
Mongell was also nominated for the presidency by board member Loretta Lint with Wilson being the only nominee for the vice presidency post.
Goldblum, who has served on the board since 1991, said the biggest issue facing the district at the present time is the fiscal crisis.
“We’re still waiting on the state to pass its budget,” he said. “We’ve worked to build up a fund balance and watched our spending very carefully, but now we’ve been forced to go back and borrow and borrow again, and we can’t continue on that same path.
“The state has got to do something. We’re going to be in serious financial trouble in January if this is not resolved.”
Last month, the board agreed to close district operations on Jan. 16 if the state has not begun funneling its basic subsidy funding to the district. William Harper, district business manager projected the district will be approximately $9 million in debt by the end of December.
In other matters, the board approved the retention of Cordaro as solicitor through 2005 at an annual salary of $7,800. The panel also voted to conduct semi-monthly meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays with an executive session to be held at 7 p.m. and the public meeting at 8 p.m.