Operating committee needs to file financial statements
GEORGES TWP. – Members of the Fayette County Area Vocational-Technical School’s operating committee learned Monday they will now need to file statements of financial interest at the vo-tech along with their home school districts. Walter Vicinelly, Albert Gallatin Area School District superintendent and chief school administrator at the vo-tech, said the recommendation was included in a Performance Audit report for the years ended June 30, 2003 and June 30, 2004 by the state auditor general.
He said the requirement, under the Public Officials and Employees Ethics Act, stipulates that the statements must be filed at each location. A procedure is being developed with solicitor Gary Frankhouser to keep the financial interest statements on file at the school and alert new committee members of the requirement.
“We’ll send the forms out and we’ll keep a checklist here and we’ll send you reminders,” Vicinelly said.
Frankhouser said a separate form for the vo-tech has to be completed. Committee members cannot photocopy the statement on file in their home school district even though the information will be the same, he said.
“This form will note ‘For the Joint Operating Committee’ because this is a separate operating body,” he said.
In another matter, acting director Dr. Edward Jeffreys updated the committee on plans to renovate an auxiliary building on the school grounds to house a training program for heavy equipment operations and preventative maintenance.
He said students who enter the program would be eligible to attend the Western Pennsylvania Operating Engineers’ apprenticeship program free of charge and would be paid.
Jeffreys said the building could house different programs based on workforce needs in the region.
“We can’t be the same old vo-tech we’ve been for 42 years because the results we’re getting now aren’t what we want,” he said. “We’re looking at all of our programs and we have to be prepared to react with what is in demand.”
He said students from the graphic arts class did the design work for the building, which has an estimated $110,000 cost to renovate. The costs can be reduced by about 25 percent if some of the work is done with in-house staff, according to Jeffreys.
The school is also working with Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus to gauge interest in the new mining technology associate degree program being offered at the local campus in January, he said.
“We believe there are jobs available and the mining companies are willing to pay to have students trained,” Jeffreys said. “We need to get to the high schools and see if there are students who want to receive an associate degree in mining technology.”
In another school-related issue, Jeffreys reported that student attendance for the first nine-week period is 94 percent, while faculty attendance to date is 91 percent.
Before adjourning, the committee voted to return $5,271.88 from the cafeteria summer food account to the state Department of Education for overpayment of advance money for the school’s Summer Food Program.
Jeffreys said the money was advanced to the school for the program but it was not earned. He said the funds to repay the state are coming from the cafeteria fund and not the school’s general fund.
Last month, the committee discussed the 2005 Summer Food Program, which went over budget by nearly $3,400.
Jeffreys said one site had to close halfway through the program this year, and other locations lost funding or were ineligible to participate. He said the program for 2005 was developed based on a specific number of sites accepting a specific number of lunches.
The committee voted to change the dates of its November and December meetings. The November meeting will now be held Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 6 p.m., with a policy committee meeting beginning at 5 p.m.
The committee’s annual reorganization meeting will be held Monday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. with the monthly business meeting slated to follow.