Federal Investigation of Schools

July 10, 2009

W-B Area defends its hiring

Super says openings filled by district relatives not nepotism.

By Mark Guydish mguydish@timesleader.com
Education Reporter
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WILKES-BARRE – The hiring of Wilkes-Barre Area school board member James Fisher’s wife as a teacher Wednesday was not the only case of relatives getting jobs. The school board also hired the son of a principal and the son of a teacher.

The connections infuriated some area residents who complained to The Times Leader anonymously, citing the recent federal charges against former board member James Height and board member Brian Dunn, both accused of accepting money in exchange for district contracts. Dunn, who has not resigned or attended board meetings since the accusations, was also charged with accepting money for jobs.

Several people who said they were either teachers or parents of teachers unable to get a job in the district pointed to two new hires: John Woloski, the son of Solomon/Plains School Principal John Woloski, and Justin Corell, son of consumer and family science teacher Marie Corell. Superintendent Jeff Namey confirmed those relationships but defended the hirings.

“Justin substituted last year and did an outstanding job at Heights Elementary and at Solomon Plains,” Namey said. “The administration and his colleagues gave him the highest ratings. His mother had nothing to do with the hiring,”

Woloski “is a brilliant young man,” Namey said, and as a principal his father would not have any real input into the hiring.

Namey also said the two were picked in part because the district – like every other one in the area – has far more female teachers in elementary schools than males, an imbalance some experts suggest should be corrected so there are more male role models. “Whenever I can get a man in an elementary school, I try to get them in,” Namey said, provided they meet all requirements of the screening process.

Namey also defended the hiring of Dione Fisher, the board member’s wife, who is fresh out of college after changing careers. “She’s been in the private sector for many years; she’s not a 22-year-old kid. She did her student teaching at Kistler and her work there was outstanding.”

The district has not changed its unwritten hiring procedures since Height and Dunn were charged, Namey said. Board member Lynn Evans said in April that the system allows board members to recommend applicants for interviews. Namey then reviews applicants and gives a list of recommended hires for the board’s consideration.

On Thursday, Namey said he does not always interview people who have been working in the district. “There’s nothing I’m going to learn in a 20-minute interview that we don’t already know if they’ve worked a whole year.”

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

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