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KINGSTON — Wyoming Valley West Superintendent Chuck Suppon commended Plymouth Councilman Bill Dixon and Darnetta Yusko at Wednesday’s school board meeting for their efforts in coordinating a summer and after-school program for district children.
The program will be run by Boys and Girls Club of America and will be held at State Street Elementary for grades K through six.
Yusko, a graduate nursing student at Misericordia University and a mother of three, said there is currently a Boys and Girls Club program at the New Street Apartments but it is “maxed out” at 10 children.
“I wanted something positive for my kids,” said Yusko, of Plymouth. Armed with the results of a community survey, which indicated the need for such a program, Yusko presented her findings to the Plymouth Recreation Board asking for its support.
Judy Rittenhouse, a representative of the Greater Federation of Women’s Clubs and the Plymouth Library, said the library also plans to partner with the program.
“We did a lot of outreach throughout the school year,” she said. “We have the facility, the books and the volunteers that would love to work with these kiddos.”
In another matter, the board adopted a Corrective Action Plan as requested by the Auditor General as a result of a performance audit of for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years. During this time, the district failed to bill nine sending districts for “non-resident, district paid tuition students” totaling $31, 261.
The audit defines a “non-resident student”as one “educated by the district whose parents or legal guardian resides in another district. The audit says Wyoming Valley West personnel “did not bill sending districts for regular educational services provided to special education students who spend a portion of their day ‘main streamed’ into regular classrooms.
Last month, Business Manager Joe Rodriguez said “personnel changes in the office” resulted in the oversight and that the problem had been fixed and the bills were mailed. The board affirmed at Wednesday’s meeting that invoices for tuition for the 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 have been mailed to the sending districts.
In other business the board accepted the following resignations due to retirement, effective the last day of the 2014-2015 school year:
· Nancy McAndrew, Chester Street, grade 2 gifted.
· Charles H. Hampton, Dana Street, music.
· Fred F. Kuscavage, High School, physical education/department chairperson
· Thomas Gazowski, Middle School, grade 6 math.
· Stephanie L. Kurilla, Dana Street, grade 4.
· Mary Ellen Burns, Dana Street, Title I math.
The board’s next work session will be held at 7 p.m. on April 8 with the regular meeting to immediately follow.