December Ellwood City School Board December Meeting Brief

The following is a brief summary of the Ellwood City School Board meeting held on Thursday, Dec. 3:

The meeting was the last meeting of 2015 and the last meeting with board members George Garda, Bob Stevenson and Jennifer Grossman, although Stevenson and Grossman were absent.

Superintendent Joe Mancini thanked the three leaving members for their service and thanked Garda for his many years of service to the Ellwood School District as both an administrator and board member.

At the conclusion of the meeting, new members Erica Gray, Jennifer Tomon and Danielle Woodhead were sworn in. Renee Pitrelli was voted President and Matt Morella Vice-President. The new board approved the list of suggested meeting dates for 2016. Meetings will be held much the same as in 2015: second Thursday of the month with an agenda meeting the preceding Monday.

Revenue/Finance

• The Board approved bids for the following properties: 705 Wayne Ave. in the amount of $551 by Shay Coccia, 818 Bridge St. in the amount of $500 by Jasmine Jones and two properties located on Church Street in the amount of $1000 each by Irvin Strohecker.
• The Board approved a measure allowing the district to take a loan from First National Bank for $5,185,000 with a 1.12 percent interest rate. The loan may be necessary in the upcoming months if the Pennsylvania state budget isn’t passed. The loan will not be needed if a budget is passed in January and if the loan is tapped into, the district will recover the principal, but not the interest, from the state.

Personnel/Education

• Debbie Wiech was approved as a mentor for the new K-2 Guidance Counselor/Community Liaison.
• Board Member Renee Pitrelli was nominated to fill a seat on the Midwestern Intermediate Unit Board.

Properties/Transportation

• A request by the Lincoln High School Cheering Boosters to operate the concession stand during the 7th and 8th grade boys’ basketball games and the three home wrestling matches for the 2015-16 school year was approved.
• The administration was authorized to dispose of two old portable basketball hoops. Building and Grounds Supervisor Steve Schuster said the basketball hoops were considered a safety hazard due to the danger of them falling down.
• The Board approved an agreement to participate in the Western Pennsylvania Gasoline/Diesel Fuel Consortium for the 2016-17 school year.

Student Affairs/Athletics

• A request by Lee Caldwell, LHS Marching Band Director, to take the Lincoln Blue Band to New York City to perform in the USS Intrepid Air and Space Museum from Thursday, March 3, 2016 at 11:30 p.m. until Saturday, March 5, 2016 late evening was approved.
• The physician’s agreement between Dr. Lawrence Rahall and the district for the period of Jan. 1, 2016 through Jan. 1, 2017 was approved.