COAL TOWNSHIP - LaRue Beck made clear Tuesday night that despite being in the hospital, she is not resigning from Shamokin Area School Board.
"There is no way I am resigning from Shamokin Area School Board for no reason at all," she said, her voice broadcast over a set of speakers attached to a laptop computer inside the district board room.
Beck, 84, was a remote attendee at the board's monthly meeting. A patient at Geisinger-Shamokin Area Community Hospital, she was seated in a chair in her hospital room and was patched into the board room via the Internet communication service Skype. The digital service allowed her to hear and be heard by using a computer's microphone and speakers.
Beck said she would not resign before the end of her current four-year term which is set to expire in 2013.
She has contracted pneumonia and has been experiencing other health problems in recent months, and arrangements were made for her to participate in Tuesday's meeting, voting on each issue and making her statement to the board.
Brian Persing, board president, said board solicitor James Zurick confirmed that such an arrangement was permissible.
Settlement pending
Tuesday's meeting opened and closed without any mention about the district curriculum coordinator or a potential settlement.
After the meeting, Persing said the district is awaiting paperwork from attorneys for Ruby Michetti outlining a settlement, one that Superintendent James Zack is already agreed to in principle.
Michetti had fought and has apparently succeeded in opposing a board decision in April to eliminate her administrative position and assign her a middle school teaching position. It had come in the midst of staff layoffs and was touted by some board directors as a way to save the district money as the board balanced its budget.
After losing an appeal with the school board, she filed suit with the county to stop the move, and a county judge issued a injunction blocking the planned demotion pending the outcome of legal action.
The district has not responded to Michetti's suit in court, and board members last month said the majority prefers an out-of-court settlement officially reinstating her position as well as her salary and benefits.
Director reports
Director Ron McElwee issued a challenge to district administration: come up with proposals to balance next year's budget and come up with them soon.
Just months after finally erasing a $5.6 million deficit entering the current school year, the district faces an estimated $3 million shortfall ahead of 2013-14.
McElwee said in making a "mock budget," the district should find a way to involve community members who, he said, are "sometimes not heard."
"I don't want to wait. I don't want to get in the same predicament as last year," he said.
Persing and Director Bob Getchey each used their time to commend the district maintenance staff and their boss, Dave Petrovich, for their work in cleaning up the elementary school ahead of the new school year.
The start to school was delayed two days last month due to complications with an ongoing renovation project at the building. The district staff worked in the days ahead of the opening to get the building ready as soon as possible.
The make-up days for the two-day delay are Feb. 15 and March 28.
Getchey also clarified a comment he made last month when he said college students should only be allowed to practice with high school students if they're properly insured. On Tuesday, he said the college students must be "supervised."
In other business, the school board:
- Voted to buy a like-new 2012 John Deere Gator, a four-wheel drive utility vehicle with cab and snow plow for $14,050, and two water wheels for use at district athletic fields at a cost of $4,000 total, to be paid from capital reserve. Both purchases were hailed as good buys by a trio of board members;
- Purchased a principal/teacher evaluation system at a cost of $39,344, paid with grant funding;
- Accepted with regrets the retirement of Barbara Ammerman, superintendent secretary/board secretary, effective Dec. 31, and the retirement of Richard Gross, head custodian, effective Oct. 15;
- Reappointed several music instructors: Kevin Styer, high school band director, $5,100 salary; Sharon Styer, assistant band director, $1,200; Beth Gensemer, band front advisor, $600; Daniel Shuman and Jessica Bainbridge, drill instructors, $650 and $500, respectively; Gretchen Carpenter, percussion instructor, $650; Nancy Shuey, chorus director, $900; Barbara DeGaetano, high school orchestra director;
- Also reappointed musical staff with salaries offset with musical funding, if available: Rachel Ulsh, musical director, $2,700; Kevin Styer, producer, $1,300; Scott Anderson, light/sound technician, $600; Shawn McGugan, art director, $1,000; choreographer position not filled, $900;
- Approved a agreement with Luzerne County Community College for college students to complete early childhood education practicums with cooperating teachers at the district elementary school through Dec. 7;
- Added four Act 80 days: Oct. 10, Nov. 1, Dec. 12, May 10.