ECASD Board of Directors Takes Action for Upcoming School Year; Bids Farewell to Superintendent

The Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors took action on a long lineup of business in preparation for the upcoming school year and bid farewell to Superintendent Dr. Wesley Shipley during Thursday’s voting meeting.

Shipley in attendance at his last meeting before Dr. Amy Anderson takes over as superintendent said his time at Ellwood is a time he will treasure and miss.

“It was by far the best five years of my administrative career.”

Shipley said working with the administrators and staff at ECASD was truly a pleasure and feels that they all accomplished a lot together. He mentioned persisting through COVID and then ultimately rebounding from it and continuing education through all phases of construction.

“I wish I would have found my way here 10 years ago.”

Board President Jennifer Tomon thanked Shipley on behalf of the board for his service and echoed Shipley’s sentiments that it was a great working relationship with numerous advancements for the district.

School Safety

High School Principal and Head of District Safety and Security, John Sovich, presented the Annual Safety Report to the board and said overall the department is consistently and constantly putting the safety of the students first.

He said the weapons detection system has been a big success, and they hope to add some additional units through grant funding. He added that a goal is in place to “harden” entrances, which involves implementing physical and technological security measures to control access and deter unauthorized entry, making it more difficult for potential threats to gain access to the school building. This includes strategies like establishing a single point of entry, using secured vestibules, implementing visitor management systems, and employing reinforced doors and windows.

Sovich reported that overall the officers responded to 470 incidents with 420 at Lincoln, 35 at Hartman, 10 at Northside, and 5 at Perry.

He assured the board that safety would continue to be a priority.

“Failure to prepare is preparing for failure,” he said wrapping up his report.

The board passed a motion to to review and the Safety Report.

A Little School History

Heidi Feltrop, LHS Librarian, presented information regarding the cornerstone of LHS. Located in the auditorium, it contains a time capsule.

Feltrop said the capsule is from 1925 and inside it is a directory of employees who worked for the district at that time, a picture of the championship football team from that year, a small bible, and an essay on education.

“It’s possibly shoe size,” Feltrop said.

The librarian said her curiosity promted her to reach out for more information, and she has been in touch with Lee Michael Industries and local architect Dan Franis to explore the removal of the cornerstone and retrieval of the time capsule.

She said the project will take 40 to 50 hours of work for two to three workers and one to two supervisors.

During the meeting, the board approved a motion for Lee Michael Industries, Inc. (LMI) to remove and replace the cornerstone of the Lincoln High School. They would like to donate their labor and materials in exchange for advertisement banners at the district’s athletic facilities.

Other motions passed:

• Motion to approve the May 5, 2025, Committee Meeting Minutes, the May 8, 2025, Regular Meeting Minutes, and the May 29, 2025, Special Meeting Minutes.
• Motion to approve the General Fund Budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year in the amount of $35,564,925 and submit it per the PA school code to the Department of Education.
• Motion to approve the tax resolution setting the tax rates for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to include the ACT 679 $5 per capita tax, the ACT 511 $10 per capita tax (a shared tax by municipalities), property tax millage at 21.05 mills, Earned Income Tax at .5%, Realty Transfer Tax at .5% and the Occupational Privilege/Local Service Tax at $5.00.
• Motion to approve the 2025-26 Homestead/Farmstead Exclusion calculation and resolution implementing the Homestead/Farmstead exclusion at $17,749 or $373.61 for the 2025-26 tax year.
• Motion to approve Medical Insurance Premiums with the Allegheny County School Health Insurance Consortium (ACSHIC) for the 2025-2026 school year with a a rate increase of 5.7% for the medical and prescription benefits and a rate increase of 3.0% for ACSHIC’s dental and vision benefits.
• Motion to approve ABC Transportation proposal for seven years beginning with the 2025-26 school year, effective July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2032, as presented pending solicitor approval of contract.
• Motion to approve termination of EC Transit contract effective June 30, 2025, per their request.
• Motion to approve the following insurance contracts as administered throughout the Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Agency be awarded to CM Regent, ACE and UPMC as presented.
• Motion to approve extended season pay for spring coaches.
• Motion to accept the following resignations:
  • Savannah Stanley, Special Ed teacher, Perry Lower Intermediate effective July 31, 2025.
  • Stephanie Modro, Hartman custodian, for the purpose of retirement, effective September 2, 2025.
• Motion to approve fall coaches for the 2024-25 school year pending completion of all pre-employment paperwork and clearances.
• Motion to approve the following teachers who have completed six successful semesters with a Satisfactory evaluation:
  • Lauren McClinton, Title I teacher at Perry Lower Intermediate.
  • April Vasbinder, Secondary Physical Ed teacher at Lincoln Jr. Sr. High School.
  • Shawna Badges-Canning, K-2 Math Support teacher at North Side Primary.
• Motion to hire Teryl Rice as Grade 7-12 Music teacher.
• Motion to adjust the retirement date of Laura Adams to June 30, 2024.
• Motion to hire Ashley Furr as secondary English Language Arts teacher.
• Motion to hire Ava Ekstam as elementary special Education teacher.
• Motion to approve a monthly service agreement with Molinaro Health and Functional Training Center, LLC to provide training services to athletes of the district including strength, conditioning, mobility, injury prevention, and overall athletic performance at a cost of $150.00 per 60-minute training session.
• Motion to approve student teachers for the 2025-26 school year:
  • Gabriella Collins, K-12 Special Ed, Slippery Rock University, fall semester.
  • Nick D’Itri, K-12 Special Ed, Slippery Rock University, fall semester.
  • Samantha Finch, PK-4, Slippery Rock University, fall semester.
  • Michaela Meder, PK-4, Slippery Rock University, fall semester.
  • Jocelyn Schwartz, PK-4, Geneva College, spring semester.
• Motion to approve renewal of School Police Contracts for Brian Speer and Matt Smock effective July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2030.
• Motion to approve Pam MacMurdo as head teacher at North Side Primary for the 2025-26 school year.
• Motion to approve the following Facility Requests:
  • Ellwood City Little Wolverine Cheerleaders are requesting the use of Helling Stadium on Friday, July 25 with a rain date of August 1 for Little Wolverine Cheerleader photos.
  • LHS Marching Blue Band is requesting the use of the Visitor side concession stand from August 2025 – August 2026 for football games, band camp and storage during school year.
  • LHS Marching Blue Band is requesting the use of Helling Stadium for their annual pie festival on Thursday, August 28, 2025, from 4 to 9 p.m. and the LHS Big gym and cafeteria in case of rain.
• Motion to approve The Ellwood City Area Baseball Federation will be holding their 75th annual Ellwood City Little League Championship Tournament at Freidhoff Field.  Due to it being the 75th year the Tournament games will be broadcasted through WKBN of Youngstown.  The District will be working with ECABF for the power and internet needs at no extra cost for the District.  ECABF feels that this is a great opportunity to showcase this community event.  The games will be held on Monday, July 21, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. with possible rain dates July 22 – July 25.
• The Ellwood City Library is sponsoring the Ellwood City Wine Walk on Saturday, August 16, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. and would like to use the LHS parking lot for overflow parking.
• Motion to approve NOVA Environmental Services Inc. proposal for Asbestos Abatement at the Lincoln High School Science Wing, Maintenance Garage, Kitchen, IT bathrooms as presented retroactive to June 7, 2025
• Discuss possibility of re-establishing bowling team.
• Motion to approve the following field trips/social events:
  • Reel Adventure, the fishing club, for fishing excursions to local waterways within a sixty-minute ride from Lincoln High School, up to one day, each week from July 1, 2025, through August 22, 2025, up to one day each month from September 2025- to May 2026, and up to one day each week during June 2026.
• Motion to approve changes to the 2025-26 Elementary School Handbook as presented.
• Motion to approve the Cray Youth and Family Services Agreement for the 2025-26 school year at a cost of $15,023.00 per slot with five slots guaranteed for a total cost of $75,115.00 no increase from last year.
• Motion to approve the following policies that have been on display since the last meeting:
  • Policy #317 Conduct/Disciplinary Procedures
  • Policy #317.1 Educator Misconduct
  • Policy #320 Freedom of Speech by Employees
  • Policy #718 Service Animals in Schools
  • Policy #913.1 Advertising and Other Commercial Activity on School Property
• Motion to approve the following new/revised policies for first reading:
  • Policy #626 Federal Fiscal Compliance
  • Policy #626.1 Travel Reimbursement/Federal Programs
  • Policy #827 Conflict of Interest
• Motion to approve the Cray Youth and Family Services Project Search Agreement at a cost of $13,800 per student, an increase of $410 from the 2024-25 school year. We have one slot for the 2025-26 school year.
• Motion to approve the agreement with The School at McGuire Memorial for the 2025-26 school year at a cost of $67,862, an increase of $2,963.23 from last year and the 2026 Extended School Year (ESY) Program at a rate of $331/per day, an increase of $24 from last year.
• Motion to approve the Amergis Healthcare Staffing Inc. agreement for the 2025-26 school year as presented to provide nursing staff solutions.
• Motion to approve an agreement with Longmore Academy, a Licensed Private Academic School for 2025-26 as presented.
• Motion to approve an agreement between the Lawrence County Drug and Alcohol Commission, Inc. and the District for the 2025-26 school year. The agreement calls for SCA to provide a Student Assistance Program dealing with drug and alcohol issues and to provide an Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs prevention program at a cost of $4,376.00, no increase from last year.
• Motion to approve the St. Stephens Agreement for the 2025-26 school year as presented.