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Sunday, June 18, 2000 Page: 6
Whether it was past experience or an encouraging show of conscientious
cooperation that kept the vacancy left by the late Gloria Pesock away from the
Luzerne County Courthouse, the Hazleton Area School Board is to be
congratulated.
Their decision to make the appointment in their own chambers was the right
one when one considers the court’s record of choosing appointees distinguished
by their political strings rather than their talents as public servants.
The court appointment of Rocco Mussoline in 1997 to fill the late Bill
McCann’s seat on the school board still rankles some and embarrasses others in
Hazleton. Unable to agree on a successor, the board at that time threw the
decision into the court’s court.
Appointee Mussoline quickly settled in with the good ol’ boys on the board
and became part of a voting bloc that led to the hiring of three directors’
relatives, including Mussoline’s step daughter, and raises for other board
relatives employed by the district. Thanks to the court, any hope for reform
in 1997 had to be once again put on hold until the next election.
More recently but just as sobering was the court’s choice of political
insider and wheeler-dealer Joe Mazur to fill a vacant seat on the Wyoming
Valley West School Board.
Both examples – one close to home and the other very fresh – underline the
rightness of the Hazleton Area School Board in working its way through the
qualifications of 17 hopefuls and conducting public interviews last Monday and
Tuesday.
The School Board’s task was neither quick nor easy. And while the voting
process devised by the school directors seemed a bit primitive and unplanned,
especially for candidate Alexander Sloot who happened to fall into
alphabetical oblivion, the directors showed a determination to carry out their
responsibilities.
The board chose Sean Shamany of Sheppton, a 24-year-old University of
Scranton graduate who is a recent product of the Hazleton Area school system.
It’s too early to tell whether hidden agendas or behind-the-scenes
maneuvering played a part in any of the votes cast for the winner. But at
least the board can take pride in handling this difficult task with speed and
not passing the buck to a handful of secretive and politically powerful
judges.