A much -anticipated Wilkes-Barre Area School Board meeting set for noon today was canceled after the board realized it had not been advertised as required by law.

Assistant Solicitor Ray Wendolowski came out shortly after noon and told a small crowd that the meeting had not been advertised due to an oversight and that it would be rescheduled for 8:30 a.m.

A scruffy-faced Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton had arrived for the meeting - he said the budding beard was the result of vacation time - but  declined comment on his presence other than to say he had some items he wanted to discuss with the board.

Leighton has been trying to get the board to approve a tax break for a former Wilkes-Barre bakery the city purchased and is trying to sell to a political supporter. The board rejected the idea previously. The sale has been staunchly opposed by city tower Bob Kadluboski, who was also present at the meeting an had signed a sheet acknowledging he wanted to address the board.

Wendolowski said it was Kadluboski who notified him that the meeting had not been advertised. After the meeting was canceled, Kadluboski criticized the decision to hold the Friday meeting at 8.:30 a.m. He argued that it denied the public the chance to comment on board actions and called it "a fix."

 

About the Author

Mark Guydish covers education for the Times Leader. Reach him at (570) 970-7161 or mguydish@timesleader.com.

A West Hazleton native, I worked as a service technician repairing electronic mailing and shipping systems, a bike shop owner and an Emergency Medical Technician (among other jobs) before landing a reporter job at the Times Leader Hazleton Bureau in 1995. I started by covering primarily politics in Hazleton City and outlying municipalities, eventually became "social issues" team leader in the Wilkes-Barre office with the accent on education, and headed the Hazleton Bureau for a spell before returning to full-time reporting, my preferred position. I'm an avid cyclist and rode across the country in 1990, a trip of more than 5,000 miles from New Jersey to Seattle and down the coast to San Francisco. Years in the Boy Scouts made me a life long backpacker and camper, and I've yet to find a better way to enjoy the quiet lure of winter snow than cross country skiing.

Mark also writes a regular blog for timesleader.com.

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