BY PAT FARNELLI
Mountain Viewschool board tied up loose ends and readied the district for the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 29, during its regular meeting Monday. Aug. 27.
Board president Todd Adams announced that for the months of September through December, voting meetings of the school board will be held on the second and fourth Mondays of the month, as there are numerous decisions to be made by vote.
During the Aug. 6 board meeting, Jerry Hoch Jr. was appointed as a music teacher. However, Hoch later declined the job offer, so the board voted to rescind the motion to appoint Hoch at Monday’s meeting. Eric Boylan of Pittston was hired as a music teacher at a salary of $37,901.
The newly hired director of special services Michael Slesinski was introduced, and said of his first four days in his new job: “The most important part of what I’ve been doing is making sure the IEPs match the students’ schedules, and assuring that every decision is collaborative, understood, and follows valid procedures.”
Newly appointed elementary school principal Andrew J. Doster was removed from the high school extracurricular activities fund, athletic fund and scholarship fund, and he was added to the elementary activities fund.
Nicole Rosencrans was removed from the high school extracurricular activities and scholarship funds.
Robert S. Presley and Brenda Daniels were removed from the elementary activities funds, and added to the high school extracurricular activities fund and scholarship fund. Presley was added to the high school athletic fund as well.
Presley was approved for a salary increase from $73,000 to $79,000 for the 2012-13 school year as a result of being transferred from the elementary school to the high school.
The board was asked about the reasoning behind the job exchange of the high school principal and the elementary school principal.
Adamssaid, “The district decided that it was in the best interests of all concerned.”
During her report, Superintendent Francine R. Shea said that on July 25, there was a meeting ofSusquehannaCountyschool districts’ superintendents. The purpose for the meeting was to set up plans in case of an intruder into school buildings with the possibility of mass casualties. The meeting was directed by a state trooper from the Pennsylvania State Police Gibson barracks.
Shea said, “We were told that we are the first responders” because it would take a minimum of 15 minutes for state police to respond to such an incident.
The superintendents were able to work out a two part plan for handling such an event.
Shea informed the school board that it takes the average shooter 15 minutes to get to where they plan to be, and start doing what they planned to do. She said that usually, current students and faculty are targeted. Shooters are usually men or boys. and usually a person acting alone. One or more students usually knows that this is going to take place.
The superintendents provided state police with faculty and staff lists, rooms, keys, bus rosters, and phone numbers. All school building doors and rooms have been identified, and roof hatches, stairways, halls, and exterior windows have been identified and labeled with a code.
The new lock-down procedure was written in plain language, with no secret code words.
Shea said that several simulation days, or “simu-mission” days, were scheduled, one for a day when there would be no students in the building.
An emergency response team will be trained, and a crisis plan will be updated, using a standard plan from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Also discussed were drug issues inSusquehannaCounty, with the two most troubling abused substances being bath salts and heroin.
Several teachers in attendance said that six years ago, there was a crisis lockdown drill day, when faculty and staff from otherSusquehannaCountyschools came to watch theMountain Viewfaculty being trained. Guns with blanks were actually fired, and the simulation was described as “very scary” by the teachers.
Board member Elwood Williams asked if there was any way that they could identify potential problems before they happen.
Board member Dava Rinehart-Cowan said, “Our students need to be involved in this. If a student feels that something high risk is about to happen, there must be a direct path.”
“Could this be integrated into the anti-bullying program already in place?” asked Williams.
The elementary school front desk secretary, Ivy Simons, said that the security camera for the elementary school is positioned badly. “That camera is pointed at the back of the students’ heads outside the office, and if they are wearing hoodies up, that’s all I can see.”
The district’s solicitor, Raymond Rinaldi II, submitted a letter of resignation Monday, which was accepted during the meeting.
Joseph F. Gaughan was appointed as solicitor effective Aug. 27 at the billable rate of $125 per hour. A resolution was passed to appoint Attorney Rinaldi as special legal counsel to the district solely for two pending personnel matters at the billable rate of $95 per hour.
Bob Taylor reported that the roof projects are 100 percent complete.
William Yesnovich of Nicholson and Timothy Phillips were hired as part-time and fulltime custodians, respectively. Don Neary and Maggie Ritter were hired as part time monitors. Debbie Pompey of Nicholson was hired as a para-professional. Brion Stone and Molly Love-Birosak were hired as mentors.
Resignations were accepted from monitors Sarah Wilkins and Geraldine Pinker; and custodial maintenance workers Timothy Weidow and Joseph Weidow Sr.
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