Uniontown school directors hire teachers
The Uniontown Area School Board hired several people as teachers during a special meeting Wednesday. The board voted to hire the following after exiting from about a half of an hour executive session: Angela M. Miller and Kristen N. Smith as elementary teachers; Melissa L. Celaschi as a high school chemistry teacher; Christina J. Marcinek as a high school Spanish teacher; Thomas F. George as a music teacher; Heather K. Pearson as a high school special education teacher; and Chrystina M. Centofanti as a special education teacher.
Director Alan George publicly announced the George who the board hired is no relation to him.
Director Dorothy Grahek passed on several of the votes to hire teachers, but publicly addressed only her reason for passing on the vote to hire George.
“I know he will do a good job for us, but I am opposed to the (salary) level,” Grahek said.
George will begin at level 11 with a bachelor’s degree. He will be paid around $38,000, according to the district’s contract with the Uniontown Area Education Association. A teacher’s salary would increase as he or she advances through the 15 salary levels, according to the contract.
The board also rescinded the resignation of Anita M. Filcheck, effective Aug. 20. Filcheck had resigned in July as a math teacher at Ben Franklin School.
District officials are unsure whether Filcheck will teach next year. Dr. Charles Machesky, superintendent, said she may submit a new letter of resignation. Officials said her resignation depends on whether she is eligible for retiree health benefits.
The board accepted the resignation of Tara L. Dunham as an elementary teacher at Ben Franklin School, effective Aug. 21 and Marion T. Bowman as a teacher, effective July 25.
Officials said Bowman was a teacher at Menallen Elementary School who had been on a disability leave that now has expired.
“She is officially retiring,” said Machesky.
Harry “Dutch” Kaufman and Ken Meadows, board president, were absent from the meeting.
Meanwhile, Director Lloyd Williams, co-chairman of the board’s transportation committee, said the board will hold a transportation committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 14 in the Central School board room.
Williams said board members will discuss escalating fuel costs with the district’s transportation providers and make sure they are aware U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., introduced a bill in July that could offset rural districts’ rising fuel costs through a grant program.
Williams said the district meets the criteria for the grant program, and encouraged people to write to Casey to help push for the funding help.
“Hopefully, (the bill) will go through because it could be a huge help for school districts in Fayette and Greene counties and for local people who work for transportation companies,” said Williams.
The district’s transportation providers said they have experienced a 130 percent increase in fuel costs over prices incurred during the 2007-08 school year, Williams said.
Under Casey’s proposal, grants could range from 10 to 50 percent of a district’s total transportation costs from the previous year. The grant program would be administered through the U.S. Department of Education.
Williams said an executive session concerned issues related to contractor Edenfield Stages Inc. The New Salem bus company was sued for repayment of state and federal and local earned income taxes.
Williams said if the company would have to file for bankruptcy, the district wants to be sure that there is no interruption in the transportation service.
The district entered into a contract with transportation providers in 2007. Negotiations could reopen at the end of the upcoming school year, said Williams.
In other district news, the board agreed to start a volleyball program for seventh- and eighth-grade girls for the 2008-09 school year. The cost of the program is not to exceed $4,000, according to a motion approved by the board.
Williams encouraged the board to explore starting the program in April at the request of the high school volleyball coach, noting the district does not have a junior-high feeder program to let the girls get experience in the sport before becoming a part of the high school team.
Williams said seventh- and eighth-grade students throughout the district can join the team, which will meet at the high school during the spring. He said the team will compete with other junior high teams in the county, including ones from the Connellsville Area School District.
The board also:
– Hired Gerald Pegg as assistant football coach.
– Agreed to create and post two club sponsor positions responsible for overseeing a new art and drama club at Ben Franklin School. Teachers have the first opportunity to bid on the positions. Each sponsor would receive $360 for their work, according to a motion approved by the board.
– Approved the request of Cynthia Braun, a teacher’s aide at Marclay School, for a leave of good cause without pay for the first semester of the 2008-09 school year.
– Granted approval for Krista Baker to take a family leave under the Family Leave Act to care for an infant, effective Sept. 22 through Oct. 28.
– Added the following people to the professional substitute list at $80 per day, effective Aug. 22: Jonathan T. Gallo, Linda Giannopolos, Amanda D. McKay, Jamie L. Schliffka and Kimberly S. Walton.