EC school board

The Ellwood City Area School Board ratified a contract with the Ellwood Area Education Association for the 2016-20 school years on Thursday, Nov. 12. The new five-year contract, retroactively  beginning July 1, is nearly identical to the previous one, which ran from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012. The changes are primarily slight increases in salaries. In the previous contract, while teachers had a pay increase for experience, there was no base pay increase. Hence, a new teacher with a master’s degree hired in 2012 would make $40,223, the same money as a new teacher with a master’s degree…

Five candidates are running for five positions. Barring the unlikely chance of a successful write in campaign, the five candidates will be sworn in this December. However, the school board will see a substantial reorganization as three newcomers will replace three members who chose not to run for reelection. In Pennsylvania, school board candidates do not run on party platforms, so all five will be listed on both the Democrat and Republican tickets. The new candidates, Erica Sutkowski-Gray, Jennifer Tomon, and Danielle Woodhead, are all Parent-Teach Organization members. At the Kitchen Cabinet’s Meet the Candidates prior to the primary election,…

Around 9 p.m. tonight, the Ellwood City School Board and the Ellwood Area Education Association reached a tentative agreement. As such, a strike has been avoided, and there will be school tomorrow as normal. Today’s negotiation, which began at 6 p.m., concluded a series of negotiations since the last contract expired on June 30. Following today’s agreement, Board Vice President LeRoy Cortez thanked the teachers for their patience. “We’ve reached an agreement that I believe is fair to both sides,” Cortez said. The threat of a strike loomed over the district since Wednesday, Oct. 9 when the Education Association announced…

The Ellwood Area Education Association will strike on Tuesday if no agreement is reached with the Ellwood City Area School Board by then. The association announced its intention to strike Wednesday following a failed negotiation meeting. Contract negotiations had been ongoing since the expiration of the previous contract on June 30. The Ellwood Area Education’s Association showed up in force at Thursday’s school board meeting. Members of the Parent-Teacher Association and Ellwood City Kitchen Cabinet also attended to show support for a compromise. Subsequently, the meeting was held in the cafeteria instead of the meeting room to accommodate the visitors….

In addition to written and verbal statements by the Ellwood City Little Wolverines, the Ellwood City Area School Board discussed several other issues at its agenda setting meeting on Monday, Oct. 6. Board Member Renee Pitrelli asked if the “behind the wheel” portion of driver’s education could be restored. The school district used to offer the course after school which, when completed, provided a driver’s insurance deduction. According to Vice President LeRoy Cortez, the school board eliminated the course in 2011 simply because of a budget shortage due to Harrisburg’s statewide public education subsidy reduction. Board Member Bob Stevenson said…

The Ellwood City Little Wolverines were supposed to play three games on Sunday afternoon. The day was to be the organization’s Senior Night for Sixth Graders. However, following the Junior Varsity game on Saturday, Athletic Director Darin Morella chose to cancel the PowderPuff games scheduled for 4 p.m. and the Little Wolverines games on Sunday. The games were relocated to Central Valley. According to the ECLW, this resulted in lower attendance, an estimated loss of $4810 and destroyed the spirit of Senior Night. According to School Board Vice President LeRoy Cortez, the decision was both a financial and safety concern….