Federal Investigation of Schools

May 28, 2009

LCCC tie broadens fed probe to county

Influence of college’s board of trustees extends into almost all parts of Luzerne County.

By Mark Guydish mguydish@timesleader.com
Education Reporter
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NANTICOKE – The FBI foray into Luzerne County Community College mushrooms the potential impact of the federal corruption probe beyond the boundaries of two school districts and a career center and into nearly every corner of the county, thanks to the very nature of the college’s governing body: the board of trustees.

The clearest link between the public results of the probe so far and LCCC is Pittston Area Superintendent Ross Scarantino, charged with taking money in exchange for contracts awarded in that district. Scarantino also served on the LCCC Board of Trustees and was the board president.

During his tenure, the LCCC board approved several contracts with companies that have worked for Pittston Area, including two that were targeted by federal investigators when they took Pittston Area records.

No other current or former LCCC trustee, and no business or business owner, has been charged with a crime or accused of wrongdoing. But the fact that the board members come from throughout the county and from broad walks of life give federal investigators nearly endless avenues to explore. A brief history of the college and the board can help show how wide the net suddenly potentially becomes.

The college was established in 1965 under a state law known as the Community College Act of 1963, which requires a local sponsor to set up and financially support a community college. The sponsor can be a city, county, school district or mix of several entities. LCCC was and is sponsored by Luzerne County.

Under the law, the governing body of the sponsor appoints a board of trustees for the college. For LCCC, that means the three Luzerne County commissioners appoint trustees. The board must have no fewer than seven trustees and no more than 15. LCCC has 15.

It is more common for the state’s 14 community colleges to have seven trustees, according to Diane Bosak, executive director of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, a group that advocates for community colleges and provides information and assistance. The commission is the latest incarnation of a group initially set up in the 1960s by college presidents to give them “a voice outside the Pennsylvania Department of Education,” according to its Web site.

Under the state School Code, the trustees serve six-year terms and are unpaid “except that they shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.” They hire a college president, set policy, approve contracts and technically hold land and property owned by the college.

“The board of trustees has the ultimate fiduciary responsibility,” Bosak said.

Scarantino was bumped off the LCCC board after Mary Ann Petrilla was elected county commissioner. She joined with incumbent Commissioner Stephen Urban in calling for a board of trustees more representative of the county’s changing demographics, and appointed five new members, including a Latino and an African-American.

The Times Leader has previously outlined numerous connections Scarantino creates between LCCC and Pittston Area business dealings. During Scarantino’s tenure at LCCC, the college hired Precept Associates as construction manager for work on the Public Safety Training Institute, a contract that was not bid out. Precept was paid much more than construction managers typically are paid, and when this was publicized, the college renegotiated the contract.

A similar no-bid contract was awarded at LCCC to former Pittston Area School Board member Anthony Rostock when Precept, as the construction manager, hired Rostock’s company, AJ Consulting, to oversee the planting of trees, plants and shrubbery at the training center.

Rostock had served on the Pittston Area board for 16 years before losing a re-election bid in 2005. He had been among a group of people representing Precept when the company made a failed bid for work at Dallas School District in 2008.

The person who did most of the talking for Precept at that meeting was Sam Marranca, who also runs SamCar Group LTD. Marranca’s company has done work at Pittston Area School District and at Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center. Federal investigators have taken undisclosed records from the center.

There is a more direct link between LCCC and the career center. Trustee Thomas O’Donnell was career center administrative director until his retirement this year. Such an appointment would arguably keep with the goal of community colleges. Bosak said community colleges “are intended to be responsive to the community they serve,” focusing on providing the training or education needed in the area. Such a mission parallels the objectives for career and technical centers set out by the state.

O’Donnell has also served as a member of the Northeast Pennsylvania School District Health Trust, a consortium that handles health insurance for most Luzerne County school districts.

Even with Scarantino gone, the LCCC Board of Trustees has a connection to Pittston Area: Trustee August Piazza, who previously served on the Pittston Area School Board and was Wyoming Valley West School District superintendent until his retirement in 2006.

The board of trustees also includes current county commissioner Greg Skrepenak and former commissioner Thomas Pizano, as well as Hazleton Area School Board member Elaine Curry, who did not seek re-election to that post this year.

Other trustees are Elaine Cook, Joseph Rymar, Agapito Lopez, Joseph Lombardo, J. Toure McLuskey, Mahmoud Fahmy, Lynn Marie Distasio, Michael Tigue, John Kashatus and Paul Halesey.

Again, it must be stressed none has been accused of wrongdoing. Those whom The Times Leader contacted said they were surprised to learn the probe had reached LCCC and that they didn’t know what it was about.

Collectively, the trustees are a cross-section of residents hailing from throughout the county who have worked in medicine, business, education and unions. They are responsible for running a college that is budgeted to spend $41.4 million this school year, with $4.5 million of that for building projects.

Where does the money come from? Bosak said that the original 1963 law authorizing the creation of community colleges called for costs to be split evenly three ways: one-third from student tuition and fees, one-third from the local sponsor (in this case, Luzerne County) and one third from the state. The law has since been amended, and the only part of that formula remaining is that tuition and fees are supposed to pay for a third.

The reality, Bosak noted, is that they tend to pay a much bigger chunk. At LCCC, student tuition and fees total nearly $16 million, or about 42 percent of the total operating budget. Luzerne County provides the smallest share of the three, chipping in $6.2 million this year.

The state added $12.9 million to the pot.

Mark Guydish, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7161

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