Ellwood City School Board March Meeting Brief

The following is a brief synopsis of the Ellwood City Area School District board meeting held on Thursday, March 8:

The meeting started with a moment of silence for Lincoln High School student Keaira Cunningham, who passed away on Feb. 14.

Revenue/Finance

• The 2018-19 General Fund budget meetings were set for 6 p.m. on the following dates: Wednesday, April 18, Tuesday, April 24 and Monday, May 7.
• A motion was passed to discard old Jr. High Cheerleader uniforms that are not in use.

Personnel

• A motion was passed rescinding the appointment of Sophia Koury as Middle School Volleyball Activity Sponsor. Board members Renee Pitrelli, Kathy McCommons and Barb Wilson voted no, citing policy concerns and procedures.
• A motion was passed approving extended season pay for the following coaches whose teams advanced to the post-season: basketball head coach Steve Antuono and assistant coaches Bob Rak and Anthony Sainato, wrestling head coach Craig Alberts and assistant coach Matt Walley, and cheering head coach Karen Steilner and assistant coach Kim Magnifico.
• A motion was passed appointed Jenna Ricciutti as the Middle School Volleyball Activity sponsor for the remainder of the school year and Melissa Davis, Joe Ricciuti and Geena DeCaria were appointed as volunteers.
• The resignation of Joelynne Scalzo-Koury, Head Volleyball Coach, was accepted.
• A motion was passed approving the following volunteer coaches: William Baker and Joe Ricciuti for baseball and Abbey Eisenbrown for track.

Athletics, Facilities and Community

• A motion was passed approving a proposal submitted by Microbac Laboratories in the amount of $2,490 to write the asbestos bid specification, make site visits and attend and handle the bid opening for the Lincoln Curtain Wall Project.

New Business

• A motion was passed approving a proposal by C&C Security of North Beaver Township to provide a security assessment of the four district buildings at a cost not to exceed $1,500. The full article regarding this proposal can be viewed here.
• Marc Heil was approved as the girls varsity basketball coach for the 2018-19 school year.

Future Business/Announcements:

• April’s meeting will be held on Monday, April 9 at the Lawrence County Career and Technical Center.
• The board will discuss the possibility of school uniforms at its next meeting following a request by Pitrelli.

Awards/Recognition

• The Pennsylvania Dept. of Education congratulated faculty members Christine Gibson and Jaclyn Macioce for their presentation at the Title I Improving Schools Conference in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Jan 30 on the district’s work in the Dyslexia Pilot Program.
• Congratulations to the Ellwood City Bocce Team for winning four out of five games this year.
• Congratulations to Coach Craig Alberts and the Ellwood City Wrestling Team. Five wrestlers advanced to the WPIAL tournament and three advanced to the Southwest Regional Qualifiers. Junior Donavin Chambers won the silver and advanced to the PIAA championships at Hershey PA.
• Congratulations to Anthony Roth for scoring his 1000th point in boys varsity basketball.
• Congratulations to junior Annie Macom for placing first in heir chair in her section Soprano 2 at Region Chorus. Also, congratulations to Choir Director Felecia Greco.
• The Ellwood City Area Public Library congratulated the district for its generous $349 “Dress-Down Day” contribution sent to the library in November.
• At Tuesday’s meeting, Pitrelli praised the school community for coming together after the passing of a student. The student body, faculties and families bonded together for healing. At Thursday’s meeting, Pitrelli read a letter from Leslie Gleghorn thanking Debbie Welch, April Thellman, Joe Mancini, Kirk Lape, John Sovich and Nadia Engle for their quick response. Gleghorn also thanked Jacki Macioce, Christina Mendillo, Allen Marsh, Ethan Bosch, Ben Huth from Riverside School District and Terry Bliss from the Human Service Center for coming together as a counseling team. Heidi Feltrop provided use of the library for the team to counsel over 100 students through the school day, and the team also provided counseling to faculty and classrooms.