Diocese complies with training

Hackett to speak at GOP convention

<b>First Posted:</b> 4/10/2008<br><br>By Mark Guydish mguydish@www.timesleader.comEducation Reporter 


KINGSTON &amp;ndash; The Wyoming Valley West School Board took the first step in fulfilling a threat to leave the West Side Career and Technical Center by voting Wednesday to reject a new agreement with the center.
The current agreement runs through this school year, and the board could resolve the dispute by then; but, if nothing changes, nearly 270 students &amp;ndash; more than 60 percent of the center&amp;rsquo;s enrollment &amp;ndash; might not be at West Side next year.
Wyoming Valley West has been pushing for greater representation on the joint operating committee that runs the center. Currently, that committee has three members from each of the five participating school boards.
WVW contends it should have greater representation because it provides the majority of students and, as a result, the largest amount of money to the center.
WVW had proposed it be given five representatives while the four remaining boards have one each, something that West Side Solicitor Charles Coslett said the other districts decided was &amp;ldquo;absolutely unacceptable&amp;rdquo; because it would give Wyoming Valley West a bullet-proof majority. 
After the meeting, Board President Jack Gill said his district&amp;rsquo;s latest proposal was four representatives for WVW and one for each of the other four boards, but that the agreement presented by the West Side board was still a 10-year deal with three members from each district.
Gill said he believes the district can arrange career training for the students if it leaves West Side. Options would be to send some to West Side on a per pupil tuition basis, enroll them at Wilkes-Barre Area Vo-Tech in Plains Township, or do some of the career training in the district.
But it may not come to that. Wyoming Valley West and the other districts could still reach an agreement acceptable to all parties before the current one expires. The vote was unanimous with all nine members present.
In other business, the board awarded a contract to Figlock Construction to install classroom door locks at the high school, middle school and Dana Elementary at a cost of about $118,000.
The district had expected to spend closer to $175,000. Buildings and grounds supervisor Jim Roberts said the lock company had acknowledged it erred in the bid but that it would stick to the price if given the contract. 
The locks were recommended by police so teachers could secure students in classrooms in case of a crisis such an armed intruder.

WVW board rejects new career center agreement