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 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

Pizella won't go quietly

Indicted Wilkes-Barre Area School Director Frank Pizzella showed up at the Wilkes -Barre Area Vo-Tech board meeting yesterday and handed out a press release that said he is not going anywhere.



“I will continue to serve as the President of the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board and as a member of the Wilkes-Barre Area Vo-Tech Board. I was elected in 2007 to serve the electorate and taxpayers, and I will continue to do just that...I will remain accessible to the public and therefore, I will be more than happy to answer any questions from the members of the press regarding School District and/or Vo-Tech business. In regards to any questions relating to the recent events of the past week, my comment is and will continue to be ‘no comment’ on the advice of my counsel due to the ongoing investigation.”



Anyone who knows Frank will tell you that he has moxy. He has been accused of taking part in conspiracy to pay a $5000 bribe to an unnamed school director in 2004 in return for helping someone get a teaching job. The Indictment lists 3 other unnamed unidicted co-conspirators. Three other school board members that also sit on the Vo-Tech Board have also been charged with corruption and two of them have resigned.

It looks like Pizzella wants a trial on these charges and so do I.

Frankie "kneecaps" Pizella is indicted

W-B Area School Board president indicted on bribery charge


Prosecutors allege Pizzella passed $5,000 from a person seeking a teaching position in the district and his or her spouse to an "unindicted board of education member," according to the indictment filed today in Scranton U.S. District Court.

From what I hear Frank has spent the last few years cleaning up his act so this is a surprise but not a shock since this happened before he became a School Director. A few years ago he was running for Plains Township Commissioner and was convicted of soliciting some goons to break his opponent's legs. He received probation for that offense. There was also a domestic incident involving his ex-wife and a firearm.

While I believe in redemption, it just goes to show how fucking stupid we have been as voters. Anybody who grew up in the North End of Wilkes-Barre or Plains Township in the late 1970's had to deal with Plains Police Officer Frank Pizzella and he was a power tripper. I have some stories I could tell you and I'm sure many others could chime in.

Frank performed a public service in 2001 when he ran for Luzerne County Controller. The primary was between him, Luzerne Mayor Andy Reilly and Steve Flood. Commissioner Makowski and ex-Commissioner Crossin begged him not to run but he did and split the old guard Democratic vote. Steve Flood won that election and raised Cain about was going on in the county but Maryanne Petrilla took Flood out in the next round in 2005.


Pizzella was fired from his county job shortly after and he sued and won. He was the county honcho about weights and measures. A job that never existed before and hasn't existed since.

The TL has a rundown of his previous legal troubles.

Pizzella’s past includes brushes with law

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?