Sep 11, 2013 4 min read

MAPLETOWN – The Southeastern Greene School Board discussed ideas Tuesday for potentially moving the playground at the Bobtown Elementary School from the front to the rear of the building.

The discussion was a result of board member Janet Pennington asking about a longtime suggestion of hers to build a pavilion at the school. Pennington said the pavilion would serve multiple purposes. She noted it could be used as an outdoor classroom and provide a shaded place for students.

“Sometimes students can’t even be in the sun due to medications they are on,” Pennington said.

Board member J.R. Antill brought up the vacant Penn Pitt School building. Antill said the building is no longer being used for educational purposes and he was concerned about vandalism.

The district’s wrestling program currently practices in the former school. Antill recommended the district consider erecting a steel building, possibly in the area of the outdoor basketball court next to the high school. This building would be multi-use, Antill said. A regulation size half-court for basketball could be one of its features, allowing it to be used as a practice facility, he said.

Antill said the cost for building it could be offset by potential revenue from a sale of Penn Pitt if the board decides to put it on the market. He said this may be a good time to consider it, as a natural gas company might be interested in buying it for a local office.

Under athletics and extra-curricular activities, the board approved several coaches and their salaries.

Christopher Silk, head varsity wrestling coach, will receive a salary of $3,050. Charles VanKirk, head middle school wrestling coach, will receive a salary of $1,750. Cory Spanovich, middle school head boys basketball coach, will receive a salary of $1,750. Wes Loring, assistant varsity boys basketball coach, will receive a salary of $2,150.

Michael Holloway, girls varsity head basketball coach, will receive a salary of $2,850. Michael Gashie, girls varsity assistant basketball coach, will receive a salary of $2,150.

The board also approved two assistant coaches: Jeffrey Cree, assistant varsity wrestling coach, and Kyle Gray, assistant middle school wrestling coach.

The board approved an agreement between the district and InterLink, Inc., to host the Health eTools for Schools application on its server from Sept. 10 to Aug. 31, 2018. There will be no cost to the district unless a customized report is created. Such a report would be billed at $125 per hour. This Web-based application is used to capture aggregate health data on all students.

In another technology matter, the board approved the purchase of the On-Hand School Teacher Evaluation System at a cost not to exceed $3,000. This is in response to the new state evaluation system for educators.

A professional substitute list was approved for 19 teachers, pending receipt of clearances. Two non-professional substitutes, Ramona L. Thomas and Charlotte DeCarlo, were also approved by the board, pending receipt of clearances.

Thirteen professionals were hired at a rate of $21 per hour for the after-school tutoring program: Bobby Kennedy, Heather Conway, Carmen Richter, Carolyn Sweeney, Matt Wolfe, Thomas Angeline, David Price, Audrey Mlay, Francie Steratore, Denna Shilk, Dawn Hall, Jennifer Tressler and Kriston Appleton. Donna Billetz and Lauren Scabilloni were hired as the after -chool tutoring coordinators at a rate of $23 per hour.

The board approved Kristin Haywood as the student council sponsor at a salary of $800 for the school year.

The board agreed to pay $2,021 for services to the district by attorney Frank Arcuri of Washington. No explanation was given regarding the matter.

It also gave approval to the Upward Bound Program at California University to use a room in the high school for a weekly afterschool program from Sept. 24 through Aug. 29, 2014.