Apr 28, 2004 By April Straughters 2 min read

FREDERICKTOWN – The Beth-Center board of directors Monday approved a three-year contract extension to the district’s superintendent and assistant superintendent. Following an executive session, the board rescinded a motion to extend Superintendent Dr. Herman Jackson’s contract for one year and then voted to extend it for three years.

The entire board voted in favor of the three-year extension, however, director Karen Drill did not vote because she left the meeting immediately following the executive session.

Directors Gary Ewing and Patsy Jean Ross were absent from the meeting.

The board also unanimously approved a three-year extension for Assistant Superintendent Vicki Monas.

Both contracts are subject to negotiations. The board named Sandra Yohe, Joan Caputo and George Trout to the negotiation team to work with Monas and Jackson.

Trout of Fredericktown was appointed by a 5-3 vote at a special board meeting earlier this month after a seat became vacant when Leonard Corazzi resigned last month because he moved out of the Fredericktown region.

Trout, a retired space and defense contractor who also worked as an RCA executive, will serve until the next school board election in 2006.

Trout said he feels “very good” about his appointed position.

“I hope to be of some value to make the board as best as it can be,” he said.

In other business, the board reversed a decision not to recognize students who received a certification of proficiency or distinction for their performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (

PSSA

) at graduation this year.

The district recognized graduates who received the certificates at last year’s graduation but only after a parent questioned the process because students’ performance on the test is supposed to be private. By recognizing those who score proficient and above, the parent suggested, it brought attention to the students who didn’t.

But high school Principal Dr. Richard Martin said that it is no more a violation of privacy than the district publishing names in the newspaper of those students who make the honor roll or the students who wear honor cords at graduation. He also noted that graduates are lined up according to their class rank.

“They’ve earned it. They’ve worked hard. They scored well on the test. We shouldn’t take that away from them,” Martin said.

Solicitor Keith Bassi said that he didn’t believe that announcing those who earned the certificates is a breach of any privacy laws.