COAL TOWNSHIP - A dispute between Shamokin Area School Board and the district's curriculum coordinator officially ended Tuesday.
Six months after the school board voted to eliminate Ruby Michetti's position and reassign her to a middle school English teaching position, it was formally announced that she will remain in her position as an administrator.
A settlement was approved on an 8-1 vote of the school board, with Director Tracey Witmer dissenting. In favor were directors LaRue Beck, Bob Getchey, Edward Griffiths, Jeff Kashner, Ron McElwee, Brian Persing, Charles Shuey and Bernie Sosnoskie.
"Both sides feel that maintaining that position as part of the administrative team will promote the best interests of the students of the district, since that position
functions to promote high achievement in academics," reads a joint statement from Michetti and the school district.
"The district acknowledges that Mrs. Michetti is a competent professional and that this dispute never had anything to do with her competence, only a difference in viewpoint as to what her rights under the School Code might be."
Several school board members confirmed in August that the settlement was reached and that a pending lawsuit against the district would be dropped, citing a lack of will and money to go to court.
Michetti's planned reassignment came at a time when the school board was furloughing staff as part of an effort to balance a budget that once carried a $5.6 million deficit.
She appealed the move to the school board as allowed by public school code, arguing certification and seniority put her in line for a different administrative position if hers was eliminated, and not for a reassignment to a teaching position.
When the board upheld its decision, she filed suit in county court and won an injunction in June preventing the reassignment while the suit was pending.
Brian Persing, board president, said the district would not be paying for attorney fees accrued by Michetti as part of the resolution. Such a payment potentially could have been allowed under the district's existing contract with administrators.
Michetti was represented in her suit by attorney J. David Smith of the McCormick Law Firm of Williamsport.
The settlement comes two weeks after the school board settled an unrelated lawsuit with a former employee, one in which it did not avoid a payout.
Joseph Weaver, a former groundskeeper who claimed he had been wrongfully terminated, was awarded $60,000 in an agreement with the school board, ending a legal battle that had been appealed to the state Supreme Court.
That settlement was agreed upon on a 6-0 vote during a special meeting, with Beck, McElwee and Sosnoskie unable to attend.
The school board moved Tuesday to transfer $60,000 from a budgetary reserve account to make the settlement payment to Weaver.
Financials sought
The school board is seeking financial records of all booster organizations as it looks to ensure money raised in the name of the school district is appropriately spent on district students.
Getchey, McElwee, Shuey and Witmer all spoke of their support about looking into booster club finances.
Some groups have handed over records the past two years, some are inadequately vague and at least one group has not turned theirs in, directors said.
McElwee said the records are due by year's end.
"I want to know where the money is being spent," Getchey said.
Witmer, treasurer of the soccer boosters, said some organizations have gotten away with not turning in the records, saying an investigation by the board is merited.
"I think an investigation is already under way," McElwee said.
Coaching comments
Bill Callahan was retained as head coach of the girls varsity basketball team, and Tony Carnuccio was brought on to the new staff of the boys varsity basketball team. Both are also district administrators.
Getchey said toward the end of the meeting he believes administrators should not be permitted to hold head coaching positions. He said the potential for conflicts of interest could arise if an administrator is put in a position to punish a player on their team.
Callahan and Carnuccio both adamantly defended themselves against Getchey's assertions that district administrators have in the past interfered with punishment on a student's behalf because of an athletic commitment.
"We've suspended athletes for games. We all have," Callahan said.
"You're talking to the wrong guy," Getchey said, while also saying he wasn't implicating either Callahan or Carnuccio. He provided no names or further details on any potential conflicts.
"Since me and Venna have been here, has that occurred? No," Callahan added of himself and Chris Venna, high school principal.
Callahan is an assistant principal.
Along with Callahan and Carnuccio, a third administrator, Rick Kashner, the district athletic director, coaches at the high school. He is an assistant with the baseball program.
"Just playing devil's advocate, Bob, but is it OK for a board member to be a coach?" McElwee asked.
"Oh, I don't care about that. A board member can't do anything (about discipline)," Getchey responded.
"Yes, they can," McElwee said.
Getchey served as a volunteer on the girls basketball team last year and had sought to become the head coach in the past.