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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Friday, February 8, 2013
And other notes from Wednesday night's Baldwin-Whitehall School Board meeting.
School Safety Expert Dr. Randal A. Lutz provided an update during Wednesday night's Baldwin-Whitehall School Board meeting regarding school safety-improvement efforts in the B-W School District. Lutz said that district administration has been focusing recently on three main areas that pertain to school safety: education/professional development, communication and "the hardening of structures, or hardening of exteriors." In the area of education/professional development, Lutz said that, during an in-service event on Jan. 21, local school safety expert Mary Margaret Kerr made a presentation to Baldwin-Whitehall educators on the topic of "owning spaces." Said Lutz, "The topic was really ... How do we go through our facilities and 'own' the …
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Baldwin High School received praise for hosting a local science fair, but only one Baldwin-Whitehall student participated.
Baldwin High School received much praise for hosting a Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) fair on Saturday, so much so that PJAS officials are considering hosting an event there every year, Baldwin-Whitehall School District Superintendent Dr. Randal A. Lutz said at a B-W School Board meeting on Wednesday night. Lutz estimated that the annual fair, which is open to students in grades 7-12 from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, brought around 1,000 competing students to Baldwin High this year from around 85 school districts. But while approximately 60 Baldwin-Whitehall students volunteered to help to host the event, only one B-W student was among the 1,000 who actually participated. And that news alone put a damper on what was …
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Thursday, January 17, 2013
And other notes from Wednesday night's school board meeting.
'A+' Rating Turns out that an "A+" rating in school is good for book reports and bonds. Baldwin-Whitehall School Board member Martin Michael Schmotzer commended his colleagues and B-W School District administrators at their meeting on Wednesday night for helping the district to achieve an A+ rating on its general obligation bonds from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. Standard & Poor's (S&P's) rating scale goes from "D" (lowest grade) to "AAA" (highest), with optional "+" and "-" modifications given from "CCC" to "AA." S&P's gave Baldwin-Whitehall an "A+" for its school issuer credit, long-term and underlying ratings. According to S&P's official analysis, the ratings reflect S&P's view of B-W's "participation in the Pittsburgh …
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Thursday, January 10, 2013
Is there a need for armed guards at local schools?
In Case of Emergency ... The topic of school safety dominated discussions on Wednesday night at the first Baldwin-Whitehall School Board meeting since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, CT, in mid-December. Multiple school board members, the district superintendent, a student board representative and a vocal member of the public each spoke on the issue, and the theme was constant: Baldwin-Whitehall, like all school districts, is vulnerable to attack. "I don't know how anybody can fight against a military assault rifle," school board President Nancy Sciulli DiNardo said toward the end of Wednesday's meeting before also saying that school district officials "need to do everything we can within the…
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Tuesday, December 18, 2012
The Baldwin-Whitehall school director was interrupted a week ago.
At a Baldwin-Whitehall School Board meeting on Wednesday, board President Nancy Sciulli DiNardo interrupted fellow board member Nancy Lee Crowder while Crowder was explaining the credentials of her own nominee for a vacancy on the board. Crowder halted her explanation but ultimately nominated a "Karen Brown." Brown failed to earn appointment to the board by receiving only one "yes" vote—from Crowder. Instead, longtime B-W School Board member and former state Rep. Martin Michael Schmotzer rejoined the board by a 5-3 vote. The Baldwin-Whitehall Patch asked Crowder for her full remarks. Here they are (completing part in bold): I have reviewed each and every application as instructed to do so. When there's an open seat on the board, it allows …
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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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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 ›