WVW seeks 5-year state audit, appoints high school principal

KINGSTON — The Wyoming Valley West School Board agreed at Wednesday’s monthly meeting to ask the state Auditor General’s office to conduct a “full and extensive” audit of the district’s books, financing and contracts including state funding for the last five years.

The motion was added to the agenda at the request of Board Member Paul Keating, who said “I firmly believe, and I hope I’m proven wrong, that our deficit is much greater than reported in the budget,” and that maximum tax increases allowed under state law will be required in coming years. Keating said he wants to make sure the board knows exactly what the situation is with the district finances.

Solicitor Lars Anderson noted the district could ask for specific issues to be audited, but that the auditor general is an independent entity and would make the final decision of what, if any, work is reviewed. The request to put the motion on the agenda was approved unanimously. When it came up for a vote along with eight other items, it passed unanimously.

Keating lost an effort to have a vote to hire a School Resource Officer for the Middle School at the start of the the 2022-23 school year. While that motion was already on the agenda, Board Member Brian Dubaskas and several others asked for more details on cost and a comparison of the payment for an SRO and the amount currently paid to a contracted company for a security person.

Keating said the numbers he saw showed hiring a Kingston police officer would cost a few dollars less than what is being spent now, and that an SRO would bring the full power of the police force into the school to deal with growing problems with student behavior. Dubaskas said he supports hiring an SRO, but that more detailed information should be available to the board before voting. Several members of the audience spoke strongly in favor of hiring the SRO sooner rather than later because of increased fighting in and out of the building. Seven of the nine members voted to table the motion, promising to have it on the agenda at the next meeting.

The board also increased pay for substitute teachers to $125 per day, bringing the rate more in line with other local districts that have raised their rates in the wake of a chronic substitute teacher shortage

And the board appointed Tara Carey as High School Principal at a salary of $81,155 beginning Feb. 22. The board also accepted the resignation of current high school principal Jacob Sholtis, whose last day is set for Feb. 17. Sholtis has accepted an administrative position at another district.

With the retirement of Louis Cardoni set for July 6, the board took a step to finding a replacement by approving a job description for the position of Business Manager.

The board also:

• Accepted a $10,000 payment from Keystone Garden Estates, Inc., as satisfaction of a 2009 judgment for unpaid earned income taxes.

• Added Jessica Podskoch and Amy Hoose to the substitute list.

• Accepted the resignations, due to retirement at the end of this school year, of teachers George Simms, Carol McGarry, Lori Tillger and Cheryl Humphrey, and clerk Patricia Pape.

• Accepted the resignations of nurse assistant Anela Paresa, emotional support aide Dolores Hughes, learning support aide Stephanie Delzeit, cleaning persons Miranda Deckard and Daniella Deangelo, teacher Stacy Mullen and long-time head varsity baseball coach John Milius.

• Accepted the resignation of David Yezefski as musical technical director, and appointed Kevin Hettrick to the position.

• Appointed Alexandria Briggs-Reichart as family and consumer science teacher at the middle school, with a salary of $49,500.

• Appointed Mia Simon as personal care aide at State Street elementary at $12 an hour.

• Approved multiple spring coaching positions, including Courtney Thomas for girls winter and spring varsity track and Ashley Emarantz for boys winter and spring varsity track at $4,251 each, George Simms as assistant for boys spring track grades 10-12 at $2,764, Abigail Rodway and Elizabeth Kane as head assistants for boys and girls track grades 7-9 at $2,353 each, Brian Meyer and Lindsey Sutkowski as boys and girls track assistants at $2,047 each, Jess Ras for girl’s softball varsity grades 10-12 at $4,051, William Smedley for assistant girls’s softball grades 10-12 at $2,764, and Andy Barilla and Mike Monaghan for girls softball assistants grades 7-9 at $2,764 each.