The Wyoming Area School board, shown with a pad computer being used to stream the meeting online Tuesday night, was confronted with a need for a full time principal in one school, a shortage of cafeteria workers in the high school, an increase in fights and behavior problems, and and a warning that student cell phone use needs to be brought under some control.
                                 Mark Guydish | Times Leader

The Wyoming Area School board, shown with a pad computer being used to stream the meeting online Tuesday night, was confronted with a need for a full time principal in one school, a shortage of cafeteria workers in the high school, an increase in fights and behavior problems, and and a warning that student cell phone use needs to be brought under some control.

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

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<p>Wyoming Area Superintendent Janet Serino, second from right, reads her report at the start of Tuesday’s School Board meeting.</p>
                                 <p>Mark Guydish | Times Leader</p>

Wyoming Area Superintendent Janet Serino, second from right, reads her report at the start of Tuesday’s School Board meeting.

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

A surge in high school fights, including a cafeteria fight that had students standing on tables to record the action, led to a call for a new cell phone policy.

A surge in behavior issues with kindergarten students led to a call for a full-time principal who didn’t split days between the high school and the kindergarten center — a split apparently done in response to the high school fights.

And cafeteria workers begged for more help in the high school, where four lines of service have been reduced to two.

While no one at Tuesday’s meeting said those issues in Wyoming Area schools were related, the dots line up.

Cafeteria workers implored the School Board to hire more workers at the high school, where only two lines are open during lunch, leaving students without lunches, or with lunches they throw away. The employee shortage is compounded by difficulty getting certain foods, they added. The stress is leaving some remaining workers considering quitting.

Board member Toni Valenti promised the board is already looking into the issue and that it will be addressed. After the meeting, Superintendent Janet Serino said the shortage was created primarily by a large number of workers taking medical leave, adding that the health issues are not necessarily related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While many local districts hire outside contractors to handle cafeteria service, Wyoming Area still does the work in-house.

Teacher Union President Melissa Dolman urged the board to adopt a new, uniform policy controlling use of cell phones by students, noting that students are taking photos of other students and faculty, doctoring them to make some inappropriate and posting them on social media. She also cited a sharp increase in high school fights, mentioning a recent one that had students standing on tables to shoot video of the tussle, which were immediately posted online.

“I got back to my class and I had students telling me there was a fight, and they weren’t even in the cafeteria,” Dolman said, adding a student offered to show it to her on a phone. “That’s how fast this happens.”

Dolman didn’t offer specific ideas, and conceded it might be impossible to convince students to surrender phones or keep them in lockers for entire days — especially since some teachers may opt to have them use the devices in lessons. But she said she has a table with numbered positions painted on it corresponding to student numbers; students place their phones on the assigned number spaces for the duration of the class.

Citing an increase in behavioral problems, several teachers at the kindergarten center passionately urged the board to hire a full-time principal or otherwise arrange for an administrator to be available most of the day, noting that they were told that, “at the board’s request,” newly appointed principal Shaun Rohland is in the center 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., spending the rest of the time at the high school fulfilling his dual role as director of discipline.

This has led to teachers being pulled from their classrooms to address bigger issues, they added.

Asked why Rohland was splitting his time, Board Member Gerald Stofko said “right now there are so many distractions, at the high school, there’s like 140 incidents in the last 16-17 days.” He cited fights in the cafeteria, the bathrooms and other places, with damage to bathroom dryers and doors.

“We were advised in 2018 we needed a director of discipline,” he added.

Dolman took to the podium again and questioned why the board advertised for a new Kindergarten Center principal, held interviews with about multiple candidates over several days, and then opted to give the job to Rohland while still keeping his title as director of discipline.

Board Member Leonard Pribula said in the past the Kindergarten Center principal had been able to split time with other duties. One teacher noted the last principal was still available in the Center most of the day. Dolman said that behavior issues have escalated, in all schools and grades. “What could have been handled by one person four years ago can’t be handled by one person now.”

Stofko and others promised to take the complaints “under advisement” and re-evaluate the set up.

Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish