Connellsville board members seated
CONNELLSVILLE – A Fayette County Election Bureau delay was remedied Monday and allowed for the Connellsville Area School Board to welcome the newly elected members and proceed with setting its agenda for next week’s regular session. Fayette County Court of Common Pleas Judge John Wagner administered the oath of office to Dr. P.J. Carte, Tom Dolde, Dr. Paul Means and Gary Wandel who joined seated members Kevin Lape, Jon Detwiler, James Fabian, Denise Martin and Francis Mongell.
Questions arose last week whether the organizational meeting could take place when it was learned that county commissioners could not add their signatures to final election results until Monday, delaying the election bureau’s ability to issue certificates to verify the four had secured the board positions.
The delay stemmed from vote recounts in a state superior court race and the Brownsville mayoral race.
In a related matter, by a unanimous vote Lape was elected as board president, replacing Mongell who had served for four years in the position.
Lape was first elected to the board in 1992 and has previously served as board president.
He congratulated the new members and said he looked forward to working with them.
“We have a lot of problems facing us,” he said. “And hopefully we can work together.”
Turning to other matters, the board tentatively agreed to schedule an Act 34 hearing on Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. to take public testimony for the renovation of the 42-year-old high school facility.
According to the most recent plans prepared by district architectural firm Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates of Mechanicsburg, the $50 million project calls for the installation of a new pool, addition of an auxiliary gymnasium, expansion of the area now utilized by the high school administration, incorporation of the district administration and reconfiguration of certain areas of the building along with upgrades to the plumbing, heating and electrical systems.
The previous board entered into an agreement last month to secure $30 million in bond issues for the project.
The new board members have indicated that they favor scaling back the scope of the renovations.
In other matters, the board scheduled a Dec. 10 meeting to also take official action in the following business:
Authorize school improvement plans for Zachariah Connell, Dunbar Township and Springfield Township elementary schools, Connellsville Area Senior High School, Junior High East, Junior High West and Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center. The schools did not meet state standards and must submit detailed plans to the state Department of Education as to what initiatives will be put in place to comply with the requirements.
Approve the submission of a 2009-2010 Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) competitive grant to create fully integrated ‘smart classrooms’ in grades 5-12 to support student learning and effective delivery of content and a Title I School Improvement grant to implement school improvement plans.
Authorize the attendance of district athletic director James Lembo to attend the Pennsylvania State Athletic Director Convention, March 23-27 in Hershey at an approximate cost of $800 for registration, lodging and travel expenses.
Enter into a rental lease agreement with the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, Inc. Head Start of Fayette County at a monthly cost of $1,100 for the use of a Dunbar Borough Elementary School classroom.