LH hikes superintendent’s salary
The Laurel Highlands School Board recently approved hiking the school district superintendent’s salary for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years. By the 2007-08 school year, Superintendent Dr. Ronald Sheba will be receiving $114,609 in annual pay, according to information provided by district business manager Joyce Estocak.
The raise, which was approved by a 7-2 vote at Thursday’s business meeting with school directors Beverly Beal and Angelo Giachetti voting against the move, hikes Sheba’s salary by 3 percent or $3,241, raising it to $111,271 for this coming school year.
In the school year following, Sheba’s salary will be raised another 3 percent or $3,338, bringing his annual 2007-08 earnings to $114,609.
The last raise Sheba received was for the 2004-05 school year when the board voted to increase the superintendent’s salary by $3,000 in October of that year, raising his earnings to $108,030, an annual amount he received until this year’s raise.
In other business, the board hired several teachers, their names and positions as follows: Jordan John, elementary special education teacher; Christy Hopkins, Danielle Canning and Toni Leonelli, all full-time elementary teachers; and William McCombie and Jennifer Anderson, both part-time elementary teachers. The schools to which the teachers will be assigned are to be determined by district administration.
Giachetti reassured those who were not hired that some teachers will retire, creating openings for the 2007-08 school year. “You were all excellent candidates,” he said.
The board also reinstated Jill John to a reading post in the junior high school and accepted the resignations of Kathleen Williams, health room aide/registered nurse, effective immediately, and Gene Doria, food service director, effective Oct. 1.
In another matter, the board approved change orders for the $6.6 million Hutchinson Elementary School renovation project and other school projects.
The change orders are as follows: $4,806 to extend paving work at the high school to the teachers’ parking lot; $7,500 to pave the parking lot at George C. Marshall Elementary School; $8,500 for originally unplanned excavation work at Hutchinson; $1,200 for two handsets for district officials to use at Hutchinson during student dismissal times; and $2,000 for clocks at Hutchinson.
Sheba said change orders to date for the Hutchinson project have amounted to around $50,000, less than half of the amount of money in the contingency fund set aside for project change orders.
Sheba also announced due to renovations, Hutchinson Elementary students will eat in the school’s future library and music room while cafeteria renovations are completed.
Student lunches will be made at the middle school and transported to the elementary school, added Sheba.
Work on Hutchinson Elementary is scheduled for completion Nov. 1.
All classrooms will be functional at the start of the school year, which begins Monday, Aug. 28.
The board also conducted the following business:
– Exonerated 2003 school taxes for a North Union Township property after district solicitor Gary Frankhouser noted wrong information was transacted and resulted in the taxes not being paid.
The former property owner moved out of the area, and a new person owns the real estate, noted Frankhouser.
– Announced a special meeting will be held later this month to appoint members to a Tax Study Commission that districts are required to create under the Pennsylvania Taxpayer Relief Act.
Sheba said interested persons can call or visit the district administration office up to Aug. 31 for an application to serve on the commission, which will be obligated to research the district’s tax structure to make a suggestion on how taxes will be levied in the future.
He said the district is looking for diversity on the group.
– Accepted the resignation of Steven J. Weiss as seventh- and eighth-grade boys soccer head coach and placed him as head boys varsity soccer coach.
Other athletic/extracurricular hires are as follows: Druann Merchbaker as head seventh- and eighth-grade boys soccer coach; Tom Landman as head varsity baseball coach; George Kaiser, head varsity softball coach; Corey Siebart, head seventh- and eighth-grade cross country coach; Melanie Collins, assistant high school cheerleader sponsor; and Michelle Neeham, volunteer assistant volleyball coach.
– Announced 95 district high school students this past school year received college credit by taking classes through local colleges and universities.