Controversy lengthens Laurel Highlands school board meeting
A proposal to transfer a newly hired secretary from special education and pupil personnel to a high school secretarial post in Laurel Highlands School District drew a 4-4 vote from the LH school board Thursday night.
Despite a 25-minute executive session at the end of a three-hour evening for the school board, no one changed their mind about the temporary transfer of Judy Ozanich to fill in for a high school secretary on medical leave.
Board Vice President Melvyn Sepic and colleagues Jamie Miller-D’Andrea, Beverly Beal and Debra Bortz voted no, while board President Angelo Giachetti and colleagues Ira Chrise, Nancy Glad and Tom Landman voted yes.
The would-be ninth vote, Alicia Santore, was absent because she’s at home after recently giving birth.
“I cannot support any additional hirings at this time,” Miller-D’Andrea said, recalling the district’s decision on June 30 to raise property taxes from 15.3473 mills to 16.7564 mills.
“I would change my vote if I knew no additional money (would be spent),” Bortz said. Superintendent Dr. Jesse Wallace insisted that the “best case scenario” would make “a wash” the transfer of Ozanich and subsequent transfer of administration secretary Lisa Crum to Ozanich’s present job.
Crum, in fact, was a finalist for Ozanich’s present job at a special school board meeting on June 9, but was rejected 4-2 with Beal, Bortz, Miller-D’Andrea and Glad voting no, Chrise and Santore yes and Landman, Sepic and Giachetti abstaining.
Crum was the second choice on June 9 (after Tricia Bowlen, rejected 4-4 with Giachetti abstaining, Beal, Chrise, Miller-D’Andrea and Sepic voting yes, Bortz, Glad, Landman and Santore no).
The board immediately adjourned after returning from that executive session — its second of the night.
The first was stretched out earlier in the evening as acting solicitor Michael Aubele from Davis & Davis law firm conferred with a North Union Township pastor concerned over a transgendered student being in his granddaughter’s Laurel Highlands Middle School gym class.
“That is not going to happen,” said Pastor Robert Miller of Solid Foundation Ministries, whose daughter-in-law (the granddaughter’s mother) joined him in that discussion behind the Laurel Highlands High School auditorium stage.
“They’re looking into it and are going to get back to me,” Miller said as he left the meeting before the board went into its second executive session. “I’m satisfied with what they said.”
The board also agreed to look into a situation raised by another speaker toward the end of the meeting — a Hutchinson Elementary School fifth grader who kept her cool as she raised the issue of overheated classrooms there.
“I don’t understand why in my school certain rooms like the offices have air conditioning and the rest of the school is unbearably hot,” Hanna Lucente told the board.
Sepic said it would cost $14 million to air condition all district schools. He suggested that the district consider a bond issue or seeking additional state funding.
Hanna’s mother Mara Lucente questioned why the district wouldn’t consider cutting costs, perhaps by reducing “the hundreds of papers sent home every day” with students.
Sepic said 30 staffers, including teachers, could have been terminated had taxes not been raised. Mara Lucente said Hutchinson lost teachers anyway.
Personnel issues dominated much of Thursday’s agenda, including the hiring of Lisa Jordan as a 10½-month custodian on a 3-11 p.m. shift at Clark Elementary School.
Wallace said the district would be well served by all those who applied for the position, but called attention to Jordan’s military service to her country, having had two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A new wrestling coach is needed for the high school varsity, after the resignation of head coach Michael Zavada was accepted. Landman said his vacated position had been posted but there had been no applications received as of yet.
Numerous personnel were approved as extra faculty, in Outdoor School positions including the reappointment of planning coordinator Bob Walters and assistant planning coordinator Justin Ward.
The school has gone on for 45 years, teaching nearly 12,000 youngsters over the years about the ecology at Jumonville Training Center, and more recently about water testing and team building activities.
“Back in 1971, Hutchinson teacher Roy P. Fisher started the Outdoor School,” Walters said. “To honor Mr. Fisher for creating this wonderful program, we began giving to students who have exemplary character and citizenship while attending Outdoor School.”
The Roy P. Fisher Mustang Way Award award went this year to Paris Kelley and Lindy Ferguson, two of the latest members of the class of 250 that went to Outdoor School between fifth and sixth grades.
Walters and Ward also honored various organizations that helped the school this year, including Grace Community Church, Pento Homecare Agency, Laurel Highlands Academic Foundation, Johnson Matthey Inc., 84 Lumber, Centennial Chevrolet, Eberly Foundation, First Student Inc., Hutchinson Sportsman’s Club, Mike Wood Toyota and PNC Bank.
The Laurel Highlands Academic Foundation is busy as the district enters homecoming weekend. Prior to tonight’s homecoming football game, Chrise said, the foundation will conduct a Community Spirit Day from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in front of the high school. Admission is $1 and qualifies the ticket holder to a chance to win a television set.
A Marshall Elementary School student who moved on to sixth grade this year is doing so with a personal letter from President Barack Obama, as well as a citation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Valentina Gulino was among around 60 students in Jim Errera’s reading and Jeremy Winkler’s writing classes who received a special assignment.
“They had to watch the State of the Union address and get something out of it that would pertain to their lives,” Winkler said.
Gulino wrote about seeking help for her grandfather with home health care.
“We are delighted to see he would take the time to answer Valentina’s letter,” said Jim Conway, chief of staff to state Rep. Timothy S. Mahoney, D-South Union Township, who recalled how the youngster also was honored by the assemblyman a year before for winning in a homeroom coloring contest.
Conway presented the citation to Gulino on Mahoney’s behalf.
Errera said there were two “very personal” letters sent to the president by the fifth graders, though word about the second letter came “weeks apart” of Gulino’s letter.
Five students received “White House care packages,” Errera said, including autographs from Mr. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
Also Thursday, Wallace gave special recognition to this year’s student representatives to the school board, Emily Rohm, Hunter Scott and Jenna Wingrove.