ne oe HE Np lie 4, 4 The Post EDITORIAL Sunday, June 20, 2004 OUR OPINION A disturbing pattern for the Dallas School Board ere are troubling signs in recent proceedings of the Dallas School Board, actions that do not reflect well on the community that supports and takes pride in a school system considered one of the best in the region. Things started badly last fall, when the resignation of board member Anthony Barbose was announced the day before an election for five of the nine board seats. Barbose’s position was not on that ballot, so the board had 30 days to appoint a re- placement, or hand over that responsibility to a Luzerne Coun- ty judge. The logical choice was Dennis Gochoel, who had out- polled three incumbents in the May, 2003 primary, and whose vote total fell just short in the general election. It’s unclear what maneuverings went on in the background, but the sitting board dawdled past the appointment deadline. In the end, the court properly awarded the seat to Gochoel on December 18. In the middle of this near debacle, the board chose to ignore rather than address allegations that football coach Ted Jackson had tangled with a player during halftime of the Old Shoe Game. In remaining silent, district officials did a disservice to both the coach and player involved, leaving rumors to swirl and lawsuits to be threatened. Then, last month, the board, on 5-4 votes, hired 11 sports coaches in one vote, beating back two attempts to separate the reappointment of the controversial Jackson; passed over a mid- die school math/technology teacher recommended by the ad- ministration; and rejected a plan on how to cover for Assistant Superintendent Michael Speziale, who is taking a one-year leave of absence. The latest episode, appointment of a replacement for board member Deborah Morgantini, who resigned effective June 4, was perhaps the most disquieting. Not only was the vote shift- ed to the end of the June 14 agenda, the meeting appeared to be intentionally prolonged as the board took up individually a : Dag long list of personnel issues rather than vote on them as one, % « Jemactly the opposite of how coaching appointments were han- - ‘dled a month earlier. That is a common stalling tactic public officials use when they want to take action on controversial is- sues before the smallest possible audience. The choice itself, and how it was made, raise other disturb- ging questions. In what seemed to be a prearranged 5-2 vote, sg “the board appointed Dan Nulton, the chief executive of Land- mark Bank, where the district had deposited several million dollars in February. There are at least two serious faults in the appointment, neither of which have anything to do with Nul- ton’s character or qualifications: 1. If the comments of board members are to be believed, no candidate, including Nulton, was interviewed by the board. At least six people expressed interest in the post, including two former board members. 2. As an officer of a bank holding district assets, Nulton can- not properly participate in some important discussions and votes. The district ostensibly opened accounts with Landmark to take advantage of higher interest rates. What if another bank offers a better deal? School districts have many financial relationships, and while Nulton’s expertise may be valuable, there are potential conflicts. It would be better for everyone to have seen that Nulton’s assets more than offset this liability. Perhaps the board would havi 10sen Nulton even after conducting thorough interviews, possibly by an even wider margin. Certainly, all board members — and the public — de- served to review and discuss all the candidates, their qualifica- tions and their vision for the Dallas schools. This appointment continues a pattern that has gone on far too long in the Dallas School District. Whether it has been construction projects, personnel moves or curriculum changes, both the board and administration have consistently failed to fully inform and involve parents and taxpayers when impor- tant decisions have been made. This new board majority must understand that if they desire to guide Dallas schools for more than one term, they must do better — not worse — at communicating with and listening to the people who provide the generous resources that are avail- able to the Dallas schools. Letters, columns and editorials Editorials, which are the opinion of the management of The Post, appear on the editorial page and are written by the editor unless otherwise indicated. Any artwork represents the opinion of the cartoonist, and columns are the opinion of the author. Letters to the editor are welcome and will be published, subject to the following guidelines: e Letters should not exceed 500 words. * No writer may have more than one letter addressing the same topic published during a 30-day period, except as a reply to another letter. e Letters must be signed and include the writer's home town and a telephone number for verification. e Names will be withheld only if there exists a clear threat to the writer. ® The Post retains the right to accept or reject any letter, and to edit letters for grammar and spelling, as well as to eliminate any libel, slander or objectionable wording. Letters can be sent many ways: By e-mail to: thepost@leader.net By mail to: The Post, 15 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre PA 18711. By using the drop box located in the Uni-Mart convenience store on Route 309 in Dallas, across from the Dallas Shopping Center. Always include a daytime phone number for verification. Contrast in curve and line. Photo by Charlotte Bartizek. LETTERS School board not making right moves to build trust Editor, My children have attended schools in the Dallas School District for the past 14 years. During that time, I have held various offices in the elemen- tary PTOs, been a member of the middle school Parent Sup- port Group, the high school Parent Teacher Student Organi- zation, and sat for a term on the Parents’ Advisory Council. I have written newsletters for both the middle and high schools for many years, gone to dozens of Parent/Teacher con- ferences, and have attended quite a few school board meet- ings. I have to say that although I have not always agreed with certain policies or decisions, nor have all of my requests granted, I have never felt the way I did at the conclusion of the school board meeting on June 14. I initially went to the meet- ing to express my support for the renewal of Dr. Gil Griffiths’ contract as superintendent. My children have done very well in their academic endeavors in this district. As a product of in- tensified scheduling at the high school, my son was able to take eight science courses, eight mathematics courses, two col- lege courses and scored high enough to validate three AP courses at one of the most de- manding colleges in the coun- As a correspondent for a lo- cal newspaper, I have written stories about this districts aca- demic achievements from His- tory Day, JETS, and Life Smarts to Student of the Quar- ter, Science Olympiad and NASA connections. As a mem- ber of the community, I have watched with great pride as the reputation for excellence in ed- ucation in this district has grown over the last several years. I worry that the current actions of the board can change all of that. The most recent board meet- ing was held in the middle school auditorium to accom- modate the expected crowd, and there were a great number of parents, students, teachers, and other taxpayers in atten- dance. On several occasions, board president David Usavage expressed appreciation that so many people attended, espe- cially in light of all of the ru- mors that are circulating. Pub- lic meetings are a great way to get information out and to quell rumors. However, Mr. Usavage re- moved item number 5 from the agenda at the beginning of the meeting. This item pertained to the appointment to replace Deborah Morgantini in her un- expired term on the board. Throughout the rest of the very lengthy meeting, Mr. Usavage requested a roll-call vote on all but a few motions, even though the vast majority of those mo- tions had unanimous approval. After 10 p.m., with only a hand- ful of people remaining, under the New Business section of the meeting, Usavage nominat- ed Dan Nulton to the Vacant , position. 1 I do not know Mr. Nulton and will not debate his ability to make the right decisions for my children who attend Dallas public schools. Rather, I would like Mr. Usavage to explain why he felt it was not appropri- ate to make his nomination of Dan Nulton to the Dallas School Board when he had such a large audience in ftten- dance. Trust goes a long way in dis- pelling rumors and trust, can only come when the actions of public officials warrant it. Four school board members, Frank Natitus, Bruce Go- eringer, Russell Bigus and Gary Mathers, voted in favor of the appointment although none of them said they knew Mr. Nul- ton and none of them had igger- viewed him. Five other : submitted letters of interest in this position, two of whom were formerly elected to. the board by voters. Rather than being comforted by Mr. Usavage’s assertion that Dr. Griffiths’ contract renewal has not been discussed ‘yet, with one more “friend of Usav- age” officially on’the board, I am more inclined than ever to believe in rumors. If you feel as I do, please get in touch with our school board members;and let them know. ) Mary Barbara Gilg § Tre POST TIMESeLEADER Community Newspaper Group 15 N. MAIN ST., WILKES-BARRE PA 18711 ¢ 570-675-5211 thepost@ieader.net Patrick McHugh PUBLISHE Ronald Bartizek EDITOR Justin Wisnosk ADVERTISIN Greg Stauffer AD PRODUCTION MANAGER June 22, 1934 70 Years Ago RELAY SWIMMING TEAMS TO ENTER 8-DAY GRIND AT LAKE A swim-a-thon, in which re- lay teams will compete 24 hours a day for eight days will start at Harveys Lake on June 30. Among the tries Irving Roe, Lewis Lotko and en- are ONLY YESTERDAY Oliver Herbert. A meeting of the Democratic committees will be held in the West Wyoming High School Friday night at 8 p.m. Among those invited are CW. Kunkle, Martin Belbow, J. Culver and N.A. Staub. Mrs. WL. Tracy of Shaver- town left Wednesday for Holly- wood, Calif., where she will be the guest of her son, Lee Tracy, motion picture star, for the summer months. 60 Years Ago June 23, 1944 FIFTEEN MEN ARE CALLED UP Draft Board No. 1 at Wyoming has called eight men for induction into the Navy on June 27 and seven men for in- duction into the Army on June 29. Among them are James Crisman Hutchison, Trucksville; Luther Wilmer Gregory, Trucksville, and Robert Dillon O’Boyle, Dallas. Mrs. Lauren Dymond enter- tained Wednesday night mem- bers of her card club. Among those present were Philip Ch- eney, John Nash, Hilda Hughes and Allen Montross. The Women’s Service Club of Shavertown met at the fire hall on Monday night. Attend- ing were Louis Haymaker, Paul Winter, John Edwards, Gordon Austin and Ralph Whipp, among others. 50 Years Ago June 18, 1954 WESTMORELAND GIVES AWARDS AT FINAL ASSEMBLY American Legion Awards at Westmoreland’s final assembly, June 11, went to eighth grade students Sandra Lee Sprout annd James Robert Edwards, gift of Black Diamond Post, Kingston; and to senior stu- dents Jane Bartells and David Robertson, gift of Daddow- Isaacs Post. Harveys Lake Girl Scout Troop 65 met at Ricketts Glen last Monday for the last regular session of the year. Among those present were Mrs. Ray Harvey, Mrs. Floyd Milbrodt, Doris Casterline, Charlotte Bid- ding and Susan Dodd. King’s Daughters Class met in Shavertown Methodist Church Monday with Mrs. George Jacobs presiding. Pre- sent were Polly Edwards, Laura Rose, Ruth Shotwell, Gwen Cook and Irma Eicke, among others. 40 Years Ago June 18, 1964 WINNERS OF SORDONI SCHOLARSHIPS ANNOUNCED A secret which has béen no secret for the past six weeks was disclosed officially by the Back Mountain Protective As- sociation when three winners of the A.J. Sordoni Foundation four-year scholarships were an- nounced. Winners were Char- lene Makar, Ronald Hontz and Sharon Strelzyk, all 1964 high school graduates. Two policewomen were apointed for Lehman Township at the supervisors’ meeting Tuesday, on request of Police Chief Joseph Ide. The police- women will accompany regular officers in any case where a woman is involved. They are Mrs. Rose Ide and Mrs. Flo- rence Davenport. The new pastors of Dallas Methodist and Lehman Methodist churches, Rev. Robert Sheehan and Rev. Win- field Kelley, will join other Methodist ministers at a re- fresher course in Ocean City this coming week. 30 Years Ago June 20, 1974 VOLUNTEERS TO BE GUESTS AT GOLDEN JUBILEE DINNER Workers in the local phase of College Misericordia’s capital funds drive will be honored at the college June 25 at the first President’s report on the Gold- en Jubilee Campaign Dinner, hosted by Sister Miriam Tere- sa, RSM, president of College Misericordia. The event is chaired by campaign leaders Richard F. Laux and David N. Schooley. Two sophomore boys have been nominated by the Dallas Senior High School and select- ed by the Dallas Rotary Club to represent them in a gathering of 100 outstanding high school students at the Leaders Rotary Camp. The boys selected, for the camp are David Dierolf, son of Col. and Mrs. William Dierolf, Dallas and Jeffrey Supulski, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Supulski, Dallas. The Westmoreland Elemen- tary Parent-Teacher Associa- tion held its annual Teachers Recognition Dinner on June 6 at the Continental Inn, Luzerne-Dallas Highway. Among the teachers present were Patricia Kirk, David Jones, Susan Butcher and Catherine Flick. 20 Years Ago June 20, 1984 H LEHMAN PLANS = © SUMMER ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS The Lake-Lehman Si District will operate a vari of recreational-instrumental music activities for students and adults of the Lake-Lehman School District community. The program staff includes Rodger Bearde, Mark Kirk, Jean Lipski and Ed Ladamus. I Heather Whipple, age 12, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Whipple, Harveys Lake, was crowned the 1984 Little Miss Harveys Lake dur- ing an awards ceremony held Saturday afternoon. competing in the contest in- cluded Missy Kopko, Justine Ruger, Melissa Roper, Holly Ann Roberts and Crystal King. Frosting Friends of Luzerne County recently concluded 'its first fiscal year. New members welcomed were Robert ‘and Kay Vasinda. The evening host- ess was Sheryl Stolarick Mary Gallagher i uses of the air brush in co Horary art. | i) H i Rd 3 gl Others | amy | py bp . 5 SS freee -< a
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