Wilkes-Barre Area School Board Meeting

About 70 people attended the school board meeting tonight. I got there late and had to leave early because of another commitment. I expected it to be a lot more contentious but for the most part it was civil. The board applauded the speakers and answered their questions. There was a lot of back and forth between the board and Attorney Kim Borland of Save our Schools. I was surprised to learn that many board members have not visited the sites under consideration for the new school. Most of the public speakers asked that they delay any decision and gather more data. Board member Joe Caffrey said this issue has been kicked down the road for over 15 years and it was time to act.

In the end they voted 7-2 to start the  process of  building a new  high school on the 80-acre site between Maffett and Main streets in Plains Twp. Shawn Walker and Christine Katsock voted no

 

 

W-B Area Board narrows site selection for planned consolidated high school

 

Wilkes-Barre Area School District

From LuLac: Very simple. Ned Evans former District employee vs Kathy Grinaway a widowed, working mother who has worked in the private sector all her life. Grinaway has presented herself well, Evans I’m told has not. People have told me there is nothing wrong with have former School District employees on a School Board. I agree. But you don’t want all of them to make a majority. Already political insiders are calling it “The Coaches Club”. That is just so wrong for the district. Plus look at how this district was asleep at the wheel when Attorney Anthony Lupus overcharged for professional services. They thought that was okay.

Incumbent Christine Katsock and newcomers Joe Caffrey  and Denise Thomas won double nominations and barring some last minute scandal will probably win 3 of the 4 spots up for election. I would really like to see the end of cross filing for school board races as there is nothing more political in this area than a school board. Better yet get rid of school boards and let the IU's administer education.


I still can't forgive Katsock for voting for indicted and later convicted criminal Frank Pizzella as board president and she botched the hiring policy. For too long the hiring policy has been who you know are related to but then again that's life but it's done in such a blatant way.

The TL story by Mark Guydish asks about security and 3 of them want to put metal detectors in the schools.Denise Thomas said it would only cost $50,000. Sorry Denise, there are  a bunch of other costs with metal detectors. They have to be maintained and calibrated then you have to train people to man them so they know what they are looking for. And the biggest cost is

Do we really want to treat our kids like criminals?

So the final choice is between Evans and Grinaway with wild card Independent Sam Troy thrown in.

I like bomb throwers and rabble rousers so Sam has one of my votes and Grinaway has the other. That's only 2 votes out of 4 spots so I will write-in the Yonk.

Signs change over time

Before the primary.

From a reader: Card being passed by Frank Pizzella & christine Katsock

After the primary

Today

                                           

Third District Dem Picnic

I wasn't able to attend the 3DP on Sunday but a friend was kind enough to send along a report yesterday.

Hello Gort,

New Third District Democratic Chairman, Phil Struzzerri, welcomed a large and loud crowd of about 240 people at their  picnic yesterday at the Pittston American Legion picnic grounds. The food was very well received by the crowd.

All of the usual suspects were there from the area and the county except for Linda Houck, County Council candidate. Representative Mike Carroll was the MC and Sen. John Yudichak gave a spirited keynote speech urging Democratic unity in the upcoming election, and criticizing the irrational Republicans in both Washington and Harrisburg. 

Alexandra Kokura was the star of the event. She was the first to arrive and the last to leave.

No Valenti.

(rumor also heard... there is now a split between Katsock and Grinaway!)

Wilkes-Barre Area School Board

My pal and fellow blogger LuLac seems to be high on the Katsock-Grinaway ticket. I don't know.

I still can't forgive Christine Katsock's   vote for Frank Pizella as SB President after he was  indicted for corruption.

Christine, You broke our hearts

 

I just may bullet vote Grinaway

GDAC get together

Scott Cannon put together a great event at the River Street Jazz Cafe in Plains that attracted about 100 people. There was an auction of artwork and a raffle of of baskets and one of them was won by Mrs. G. She is thrilled. We will be listening to the Beatles for the next week.

A few candidates for the upcoming election showed up. Michele Bednar is running for Controller and was circulating petitions. Steve Urban is also  is running but that is a big secret. Eileen Sorokas is running for Luzerne County Council and told me that she has already filed. Independent Rick Williams was a bit iffy but it sounds like he running again. 

It was great to meet and dance with Dallas Twp. sup Liz Martin and Harvey's Lake Miche'lle Boice.

Things I learned tonight;

W-B Area School Board will have plenty of candidates but Luzerne County Council will not.

Christine Katsock is running for reelection but Lynn Evans is not. Genaway  and a couple Thomas and Evans are in. Cafferfy from Plains is a candidate.

We will see Wednesday.

Ich bin ein Schulleiter

The latest outrage from the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board is Bob Corcoran voting by Skype from his new home in Germany. It may be technically legal to attend a board meeting by video conferencing because of a temporary absence but this is ridiculous.  As PB put it: One thing you have to say for the WBA school board, it never fails to amaze or, in this case,  amuse, make that disgust.

Three members of the board want him removed but that may take months.  His seat is up this coming election and it is safe to assume that he won't be running for reelection but anything can happen. The honorable thing to do is resign but be we are talking about the W-B Area School Board  and there are people to be hired.

In addition to Corcoran,  Christine Katsock, Lynn Evans and  Phil Latinski are up for reelection. Evans said she is not running.

Expect a big field in the upcoming primary but the key is winning a double nomination making the general election a foregone conclusion.

Wilkes-Barre Area School Board

The reorganization meeting of the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board was anything but organized according to the story by Peter Cameron in the Citizens Voice  with 2 breaks for executive sessions and Christine Katsock calling the meeting illegal.

Former Coughlin HS teacher and sports coach John Quinn was elected President and Barbara Youngblood Louis Elmy as VP. The Secret Service was interested in Quinn's son a few months ago according to the TL.

You have to wonder who would even want the job of school director in Wilkes-Barre. It doesn't pay anything and you get a lot of grief in the local papers after you hire a relative for a position. Or maybe that's it.

This is a body that has seen 3 members convicted of corruption. Jim Height, Brian Dunn and Frank Pizzella. After Pizzella was indicted he was elected as board President with the support of former reformer Christine Katsock .    If there is any government body in Luzerne County that needs to change it's public persona it's this one but that doesn't seem to faze this bunch much. They made a hash of hiring a new superintendent and the new hiring policy is a joke.

Four seats are up in the upcoming election in May. The incumbents are Christine Katsock, Lynn Evans, Phil Latinski and Bob Corcoran. I haven't heard if any of them will seek reelection.

Katsock ran for many offices as a Republican reformer before she finally a spot on the school board.  She came within 800 votes of defeating Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton in 2003 and gave State Rep Eddie Day Pashinski a run for his money in 2006. She switched to the Democrats  when she ran for the board and had no comment when asked to explain her vote for Pizzella but it's not hard to figure out if you look at her Campaign Finance Report. Frank Pizzella was her top cash contributor pitching in $3000. She also got $1800 as a in-kind contribution from the Friends of Frank Pizzella.

Evans voted against Pizella and the new super and revealed the pick system of filling jobs.

Latinski goes along. 

Bob Corcoran has other troubles. Update: Corcoran barred from home, contact with son

Pure Bunkum has a couple of insightful posts about this subject.

I think we should get rid of school boards and KeystonePolitics proposes putting the Intermediate Units in charge

Wilkes-Barre Area School District

The last election has seen some turnover in the board. The winners in the recent election were Maryanne W. Toole, Dino L. Galella, John Quinn, James F. Susek and Louis Elmy.

I bullet voted voted for Kathy Grinaway and Sam Troy.

Toole was only incumbent on the ballot and she has been going against the grain teaming with Lynn Evans. I met Galella on election day but wasn't impressed. I remember Mr. Quinn from high school when he was a bit excitable in the classroom and on the basketball court and baseball field. My commenter's tell me that Elmy has thousand of relatives working at Vo Tech which remindes us of Barbara Youngblood.

Two years ago the district decided to put a hiring policy in place and appointed a sub commitee to draft it. Christine Katsock was put in charge of the effort but it has fizzled.

We get a big tax bill from the W-B Area School District every year that I am willing to pay because there is nothing more important than teaching our young people. Taxes are the price we pay for civilisation.

The latest dustup is Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton's son getting a job as a full time teacher .
Bad timing. I like Mayor Tom because he has done a darn good job bringing back Wilkes-Barre from financial chaos and reviving the downtown. Some people don't think that is good enough.

Endorsements

I have long had the view that most endorsements are only good for a press release unless they bring boots on the ground or bundles of money. That being said it is better to get the endorsement of the local newspaper than not.

But just remember how the Times-Leader endorsement gave us State Rep Christine Kotsock way back when she was still a Republican. She even printed signs that said "Endorsed by the Times-Leader." She got clobbered by Eddie Day Pashinski 2 to 1 in 2006. I'm sure I can find other examples but this one comes to mind. Congressman Malcolm Derk, if he wasn't in the race I think Dave Madeira just might have topped geographically challenged Tom Marino.

The endorsement that matters the most in this election was made by a collection of Unions that natuarally pissed of many of my Republican friends. There also some hard feelings on the Dem side.
Maybe the question should be "why don't I have those protections" instead of why do "those people have them."

Anyway here is the annointed list:



http://www.timesleader.com/opinion/OUR-ENDORSEMENT-LUZERNE-COUNTY-COUNCIL--DEMOCRATS.html

Our endorsement: Luzerne County Council, Republicans

About that hiring policy

The Wilkes-Barre Area school board is supposedly working on a hiring policy for school teachers and other personnel. The sub-committee is being led by board member Chrisintine Katsock and she has asked for input from the masses and got very few comments.

This will fire people up.


W-B Area hires Pizzella's daughter


W-B Area hires daughter of disgraced ex-president


How fucking stupid are these people on the school board? Former Board President Frank Pizella has pleaded guilty to a charge of job selling then they hire his daughter?

The Times-Leader backs the underdog Derk

For what it is worth the TL has been endorsing candidates this week and they had some surprising picks. As LuLac observed "political endorsements by newspapers no longer have the clout they once did. Just ask Luzerne County Common Pleas Court Judges Michael Blazick and Richard Hughes. "I would add State Rep Christine Katsok to that list.

I have long had the view that most endorsements are only good for a press release unless they bring boots on the ground or bundles of money. That being said it is better to get the endorsement of the local newspaper than not.


My inbox lit up today with the news that the TL endorsed Malcolm Derk in the 10th CD race for the Republican nomination.


Malcolm Derk, Republican for 10th Congressional District

He sent out a press release this week demanding that Congressman Chris Carney give back some campaign contributions from some outfit he doesn't like which happens in every campaign.

Derk is the first one up on the air with a radio ad.

Tom Marino has raised the most money so far and David Maidera is working hard.

Jim O'Meara campaign kickoff tonight

Jim O'Meara, Republican candidate for state representative in the 121st District, is holding his official campaign kickoff party at 7:30 p.m. April 27 at Luzerne County Republican Headquarters, 41 S. Main St., in Wilkes-Barre.

O'Meara is a local conservative businessman who decided to run because he knows he can make a difference and was tired of seeing an uncontested race for the seat. O'Meara believes he can right the ship in the 121st District and bring common sense back to the statehouse.

Good luck with that common sense thing. He is unopposed for the Republican nomination and will take on 2 term state rep Eddie Day Pashinski in the fall. Pashinski has had success in getting legislation that he authored actually passed into law including tracking illegal scrap metal and reforming the way Liquid Fuels Tax funds are used. He is a guy with a big toothy smile who has become a hero to Dental assistants throughout the Commonwealth. Pretty good for a 2 term rep.

Yes Pashinski was unopposed in 2008 but he won a spirited primary in 2006 against Brian O'Donnell, Ed Hayward and used car salesman Bob Reilly who has been arrested for taking bribes in connection with his other part time job as the Luzerne County Clerk of Courts.

In the fall of that year he defeated former reformer Christine " please vote for me for something" Katsock. When Katsock finally did get elected to something after countless tries she wasted no time in disappointing all the people who supported her over the years.

Look for the the union label

“Public office is an office of public trust. Any violation like this is a violation of the public’s trust. I don’t care how big or small it is"-Robert Corcoran



Wilkes-Barre Area School Board Director Christine Katsock is being accused of trademark violation for misusing a union label on one of the those annoying sticker ads that was stuck on the front page of the Citizen Voice in April.

Robert Corcoran of Airmont Printing in Plains Township said he co "It's a personnel issue."ntacted the Allied Printing and Trades Association after he discovered Katsock had included Corcoran’s union printing label – which indicated he had printed the document – on campaign material Katsock utilized during the May 2009 primary.

The problem, Corcoran said, is he did not print the material and did not give Katsock permission to use his label. As a union shop, the label is licensed exclusively to him and any use of it without his permission could be considered a violation of trademark laws.

So the ad was not only printed by by another shop they used Corcoran's label and he is pissed. I'm sure this will end up in court.

Ms. Katsock is not as loquacious as she used to be. Back in the old days (pre-2009) she was always good for quote in the local rags. Since she actually got elected to something Katsock is not available for comment.

The TL reports that she did not return a phone message Tuesday seeking comment on this story. When asked why she voted for Gary Polakowski to take the place of to take the place of admitted crook Frank Pizzella she demurred saying "It's a personnel issue." She earlier voted to reappoint Pizzella as board president despite the fact that Frankie Kneecaps was under indictment and declined to explain her vote.

It's like having our our own version of Sarah Palin who never answers questions from the press.

One of the funniest or saddest things is that Katsock is in charge of developing an anti-nepotism hiring policy.

A repost.


Katsock had no comment when asked to explain her vote for Pizzella but it's not hard to figure out if you look at her Campaign Finance Report. Frank Pizzella was her top cash contributor pitching in $3000. She also got $1800 as a in-kind contribution from the Friends of Frank Pizzella. Other notable contributions came from engineer Michael Pasonick who does business with just about every government agency in Luzerne County and has been implicated in the ongoing corruption scandal. Owners and employees of Apollo Electric chipped in $2000 and the owners of Popple Construction $2000.

The trouble with Harry

To nobody's surprise the Wilkes-Barre Are School Board replaced admited crook Frank Pizzella with another longtime politico, Gary Polakoski, who was nominated by former reformer Christine Katsock. This is not a not a knock on Mr. Polakoski who has served on the Wilkes-Barre Township council for 16 years who works for PennDOT and seems to be qualified. My choice was Harry Haas who fell short of a seat on the board by 116 votes in the last election or any other of one of the unconnected candidates.


Eight people submitted letters saying they wanted to be considered for Pizzella’s seat: Haas, Polakoski, Dr. James Susek, Al Smith, David Rubbico Sr., Peter Gagliardi, Jean Brodie-Druby and Lysandra Caiozza.



I didn't expect this bunch to do the right thing after they reelected Pizzella as board President and they didn't disapoint.



Haas released this statement after the vote. It's a PDF so I can't cut and paste. He promises to be back in 2 years.

Harry Haas for school board

A few weeks ago I suggested that Harry Haas should be appointed to the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board to take the place of disgraced former board President Frank "kneecaps" Pizzella. Harry finished 5th in the recent election to choose 4 board members and if they follow recent precedent in choosing replacements for admitted crooks he should be a shoo in. Christine Katsock was the top vote getter in the primary so she was chosen to take the place of previous board President Jim Height who plead guilty to taking a bribe. The other admitted (so far) crook on the board, Brian Dunn, didn't stand for reelection.

.

The TL reports that 8 people have applied for the vacancy but the identity of the applicants is a secret. When will these people ever learn? The Luzerne County GOP put out a press release backing Haas which will probably be a kiss of death.

.

WILKES-BARRE (Feb. 24, 2010) – The Luzerne County Republican Party is urging the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board to “do the right thing” and appoint Harry Haas to the open seat on the board.

Haas, a Republican, finished fifth in the November 2009 race for four seats on the school board. Haas missed out by 116 votes.

“We are asking the School Board to do the right thing,” Republican Chairman Terry Casey said. “Harry is exactly the type of person we need to make decisions for the district, its taxpayers and most importantly, its students. He is intelligent, open-minded, fair and has a background in education.”

Appointing Haas to the vacancy created by the resignation of Frank Pizzella would offer the school board the opportunity to prove to residents of the district that it is “not business as usual, or even, politics as usual,” Casey said.

Haas, 34, of Wilkes-Barre, is a teacher in the Dallas School District. During his campaign last year he advocated the preservation of the Wilkes-Barre Area School District’s old buildings, promised a fair-hiring process and supported training and advanced technology to meet the needs of a changing student body.

Haas has submitted a letter of interest to the school board which is expected to make an appointment on March 8.

Harry Haas for school board

Now that Frank Pizzella has resigned from the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board a replacement must be chosen by the board. Christine Katsock was tapped to fill the spot of admitted crook Jim Height because she topped the ballot in the primary. Harry Haas was the runner up in the general election and should be appointed to fill the vacancy. Fat chance of that happening, it would make too much sense.

Christine, You broke our hearts

Follow the money-Deep Throat

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Much of the outrage over the re-election of Frank Pizzella as Wilkes-Barre Area School board President has been directed at newly elected board member Christine Katsock.

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I was always a fan of Christine who has run for many offices over the years as a Republican and self described taxpayer watchdog. She came within 800 votes of defeating Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton in 2003 and gave State Rep Eddie Day Pashinski a run for his money in 2006. I was happy when she finally won an election to something. Then something happened (dispute with Steve Urban?) that prompted her to change her registration and was spotted working the polls for Tom Leighton when he ran for re-election.

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She had no comment when asked to explain her vote for Pizzella but it's not hard to figure out if you look at her Campaign Finance Report. Frank Pizzella was her top cash contributor pitching in $3000. She also got $1800 as a in-kind contribution from the Friends of Frank Pizzella. Other notable contributions came from engineer Michael Pasonick who does business with just about every government agency in Luzerne County and has been implicated in the ongoing corruption scandal. Owners and employees of Apollo Electric chipped in $2000 and the owners of Popple Construction $2000.

Tidbits

From the email:


The Morgan camp is going nuts because it was rumored that he promised the Deputy's job to Pizzella and if he goes, they are afraid that one of the other six might be Katsock who is his campaign manager. I can certainly see where they are concerned. Morgan also served as their campaign chair or treasurer.

Congrats Christine

Katsock to fill Height's unexpired term


Katsock to fill vacancy on W-B school board


Christine Katsock has run for many offices over the last 10 years and I have usually voted for her. Katsock was the top vote getter on both sides of the ballot in the primary election for W-B Area School Director almost guaranteeing a win in November. The present members of the board made the right decision to give her a head start in her new job.