The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

August 14, 2012

Board mulls more staff changes

By Tom Davidson Herald Staff Writer

FARRELL —



It will be a week before six Farrell teachers know if they will have a job when school starts Aug. 27.

On Monday, school board members tabled a move that would have recalled biology teacher Carla Garrett and industrial arts teacher Steven Sipos.

Board members also postponed placing teachers Allison Anderson, Anthony Barlow, Ashley McGill and Matt Vannoy on furlough.

The decisions were delayed until 5 p.m. next Tuesday, when the board will reconvene to consider them, Superintendent Lora Adams-King said.

The Farrell Teachers Association also meets that day, she said.

The moves go beyond the board’s actions in June, when school directors cut nine employees and slashed the hours of another five workers as part of a $15.29 million 2012-13 budget that hiked property taxes 1.58 mills,

Here’s how the June 25 moves break down:

ä At the elementary school, teachers Danielle Purich and Lisa Crytzer and nurse aides Lauren Graham and Billie Baker were laid off.

• At the high school, guidance counselor Jordan Snyder, math teacher Steven Wilson and Sipos were furloughed and Garrett’s position was cut to part-time.

• Daytime security officer Thomas Caputo, transition coach Justin Gregorich and social worker Lumumba E. “Les” Smith were furloughed; the positions of guidance office/special education secretary Joanne Lloyd and secretarial aides Morris Hilton and Natasha Robinson were reduced from 12 months to 10 months; and grant writer Lynne Powell’s job was cut to part time.

“It’s a sad day,” was how Adams-King described the decisions made in June.

On Monday, board members met in a closed session to discuss personnel issues for a half-hour before opening the meeting to the public and then went back into a closed session to again take up those matters.

During the brief public business meeting, they approved officially closing the John Hetra Early Childhood Education Center.

That approval was the final legal hurdle required to move kindergarten classes to the Roemer Boulevard campus. The move has been talked about since spring and met no opposition.

There’s also an administrative change at the high school. Assistant Principal Michael Cummings has chosen to return to teaching and will be at the elementary school this year, Adams-King said.

Sixth-grade teacher Aaron Pernesky was named acting assistant high school principal.

Board member Charles Branca opposed the move because he said he hoped Cummings would reconsider. The district will advertise the position before hiring a permanent replacement for the job, which pays $67,000, Adams-King said.

 

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