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HANOVER TWP. — Insurance is expected to pay for the loss of district money in a bus contract dispute, and the insurance company will then pursue legal action to recoup the cost from the bus company, an attorney said after a brief Hanover Area School Board meeting Tuesday.
Co-solicitor Bill Finnegan said he doesn’t know the details because Attorney Jack Dean is handling the matter, but he said insurance will pay as soon as the two sides can agree on the amount of money the district lost.
The problem centers on over-payment for transportation provided by Frank J. and Dorothea Ciavarella, parents of board member Frank Ciavarella, who stepped down from his post as board president after the problem was discovered during a state audit late last year
The district has estimated the bus company was paid about $250,000 more than it was due for one year of service. The district suspended Superintendent Bill Jones, who hired attorney Charles Coslett in an effort to settle the matter regarding his job.
The district has been negotiating for months with the bus company to get the money back. Going through the insurance company, Finnegan said, will resolve the matter from the district’s perspective, with that company taking up the legal fight with Frank J. and Dorothea Ciavarella.
Voting items
During the short voting session, the board set Hawkeye Day for May 24, adopted a resolution supporting state Senate Bill 34 and House Bill 326 — intended to save districts money paid to cyber charter schools attended by students within the district — and approved a three-year agreement to allow the American Red Cross use of three school as emergency shelters.
The board also voted to appoint Metz Culinary Management to run the district food service program from July 1 this year through June 30, 2020, with four one-year terms optional after that.