Thursday, March 14, 2013
'We sink thousands and thousands of dollars into these buildings and into the grounds, and if they're not maintained, in 10 years, you're going to be sinking thousands again and again and again.' - board President Nancy Sciulli DiNardo
Baldwin-Whitehall's school board members were split almost exactly down the middle over whether or not to bring a new groundskeeper into the B-W School District. Ultimately, the position was approved by a 5-4 vote; though, no one has yet been hired to fill that position. Dissenting were Martin Michael Schmotzer, Ray Rosing, Nancy Lee Crowder and Diana Kazour. "We already have two maintenance men," Schmotzer said during Wednesday night's school board meeting, "and if you add the salaries and the benefits, it's around $170,000. If you add this position with benefits, you're looking at a first-year $76,000 job. I just cannot justify that. "I think the work should be subbed out to the two maintenance men and/or some custodians around the …
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Thursday, March 7, 2013
And other notes from Wednesday night's B-W School Board meeting.
2013-14 Calendar Debated Baldwin-Whitehall School District administration presented its preliminary 2013-14 academic year calendar at a B-W School Board meeting on Wednesday night, and board members had some concerns. District Superintendent Dr. Randal A. Lutz said that the calendar—not yet approved by the board—shows a starting date for students of Tuesday, Sept. 3, the day after Labor Day. And the graduation ceremony for Baldwin High School seniors is proposed for Tuesday, June 10. The calendar also proposes six scheduled two-hour delays—regardless of weather. Lutz said that those two-hour periods would be used for educators' clerical work and professional development. Board member Larry Pantuso is not a fan of the two-hour delay days, …
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Wednesday, February 13, 2013
School board chooses Wagner by a 6-3 vote after rejecting Seton-La Salle Coach Greg Perry, 5-4.
Peter Wagner Jr. is the newest head coach of the Baldwin High School football program, the Baldwin-Whitehall School Board decided by a 6-3 vote on Wednesday night. Wagner, the dean of students at Baldwin High, has served as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the high school's varsity team for the past two seasons. He has been an overall assistant in the program for the past four seasons. School board member Tracy Macek motioned for Wagner to be the new head coach after board member George L. Pry's motion to hire Greg Perry failed by a 5-4 vote. (Pry was acting on a recommendation made by B-W School District administration.) Voting for Perry were Nancy Lee Crowder, Nancy Sciulli DiNardo, Pry and Martin Michael Schmotzer…
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Thursday, December 13, 2012
School board members are concerned over students possibly taking study halls instead of physical education classes.
A motion to cut Baldwin High School's physical education requirements in half was shot down by the Baldwin-Whitehall School Board on Wednesday night by a 6-3 vote. B-W School District administration had argued that reducing the high school graduation requirement for physical education, or "gym class," from four semesters to two would give students the opportunity to take other classes that interest them or that could help their careers. They could elect to spend more time at Steel Center Area Vocational Technical School, for example. Also, students could still choose to take physical education classes as electives after fulfilling their two-semester gym requirement. But board members Nancy Sciulli DiNardo, Diana Kazour, Larry Pantuso, …
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012
... but not before a brief shouting match.
Schmotzer Back on Board The Baldwin-Whitehall School Board chose a familiar face on Wednesday night as its newest member—Martin Michael Schmotzer of Whitehall Borough. Schmotzer, whose term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives ended on Nov. 30, replaces his brother, John B. Schmotzer, who resigned from the school board in November for personal reasons. The board voted, 5-3, to select Martin Schmotzer after board Second Vice President Diana Kazour motioned to appoint him. First Vice President Kevin J. Fischer seconded that motion. Board members Larry Pantuso, Nancy Lee Crowder and Tracy Macek cast the "no" votes, but they weren't enough to offset "yes" votes from board President Nancy Sciulli DiNardo and fellow board members Ray …
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Thursday, December 6, 2012
The board is expected to appoint a new member next week.
New President Nancy Sciulli DiNardo is the newest president of the Baldwin-Whitehall School Board, the board's members decided on Wednesday night. Sciulli DiNardo replaces former President John B. Schmotzer, who resigned from the board after its Nov. 14 meeting. Schmotzer said that he wished to spend more time with his family and in furthering his business and volunteerism. The school board is expected to appoint a new member on Dec. 12 to fill Schmotzer's seat. The Baldwin-Whitehall School District Office has been accepting résumés for that seat since Schmotzer's resignation, and the board will choose his replacement from that list of résumés. In February 2011, the board publically interviewed candidates for two vacancies and eventually …
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Thursday, November 15, 2012
The B-W School Board can't agree on revisions to a school facilities use policy.
Are Baldwin-Whitehall's PTA and PTO "booster groups"? The question of whether or not those parent-teacher groups qualify as such has contributed to a disagreement among B-W School Board members regarding how much certain groups should be charged to use district facilities and services. School board member Nancy Lee Crowder, with substantial PTA/PTO experience, doesn't see those parent-teacher groups as "boosters," and at Wednesday night's board meeting, she struck down a motion that would classify them that way, arguing that it would do harm to those groups. The school board has been debating revisions to the B-W School District's Policy 707, which details what kinds of groups can use district facilities and what costs those groups will …
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Thursday, September 13, 2012
Also, Virginia Deasy will receive benefits, and more leftovers from Wednesday's school board meeting.
How Should Student Board Reps Earn Their Spots? Picking up on conversations from previous school board meetings, members of the Baldwin-Whitehall School Board, members of the audience and the board's student representatives each weighed in during a Wednesday night board meeting on what the process should be for selecting student board reps. Baldwin High School seniors Jaclyn Sirc and Joseph Doyle, junior Victoria Schmotzer and sophomore Jennifer Yanko are the district's current student board reps. Each of them was nominated for their positions by district administrators before being approved the board. Board member Kevin J. Fischer has said that he would prefer that students elect their own student board reps, while folks like state Rep. …
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Thursday, June 14, 2012
Some teaching and other staff positions will be eliminated for 2012-13.
The Baldwin-Whitehall School Board rejected a proposal by B-W School District administrators at a meeting on Wednesday night to raise district taxes, opting instead for no tax increase. But proposal rejections by the school board were still rare on Wednesday, as the board also approved the elimination of several teaching and other staff positions in Baldwin-Whitehall in order to balance its 2012-13 budget. Gone for 2012-13 are the positions of director of pupil services, assistant transportation manager and technology department technician. And the employees assigned to those positions—Virginia Deasy, David Sparrow and Paul Huwalt, respectively—have each been furloughed. Also eliminated were one English, science and social studies teacher …
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'I'm willing to bite it this year.' - school board member Kevin Fischer
In an unexpected move, the Baldwin-Whitehall School Board shot down a recommendation by B-W School District administrators to raise the district's tax rate by 0.5 mills. Instead, a new 2012-13 budget plan adopted by the school board at its meeting on Wednesday night keeps Baldwin-Whitehall's taxes at a rate of 23.40 mills for at least another fiscal year. And while votes on both budget plans were split—7-2 against raising taxes and 6-3 in favor of no increase—board members were unofficially unanimous in asserting that the district will eventually see its first tax increase since 2006-07. And that increase could be a large one sometime soon. "We either do it today, or we do it tomorrow (next year or the year after)," said board member Kevin…
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Grim Reaper
1:39 pm on Sunday, May 5, 2013
Depends on who gets the job and their relationship to any board member. I.m not sure but by hiring a person under a particular title allows management to circumvent union rule and people already on the job with seniority. Just food for thought. more ›