No lead migration off site, but EPA recommends changes at Sweet Valley gun range

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Leighton touts completion of $325k in improvements to two Wilkes-Barre parks

PLAINS TWP. &#8212; The Crestwood School Board has set an Aug. 31 deadline in its quest for greater representation on the committee that runs the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center.A letter to the center warns that a threatened lawsuit will become reality if the change isn&#8217;t made by the end of next month.The center serves five member districts and is run by an 11-member Joint Operating Committee comprised of representatives from the school boards of those districts. Under a &#8220;participation agreement&#8221; signed by all five districts, the number of seats each district gets is determined by the district&#8217;s population.That has long meant five members from Wilkes-Barre Area, two each from Greater Nanticoke Area and Pittston Area, and one each from Hanover Area and Crestwood.Crestwood has fought for a change in representation, arguing that under the terms of the agreement the number of seats each district gets should be adjusted every 10 years based on the U.S. Census.According to census-derived data from the National Center on Educational Statistics, Crestwood was the only district among the five to see population increase from 2000 to 2010. In that time, Crestwood&#8217;s population rose to 20,018 while Greater Nanticoke Area&#8217;s dropped to 19,104.The Crestwood School Board contends it should gain a seat on the JOC and Greater Nanticoke should lose one.In June Gene Mancini, Crestwood&#8217;s representative on the JOC, hand-delivered a letter to the other members noting the district had retained the law firm of Campbell, Durrant, Beatty, Palombo &amp; Miller to file a suit in Luzerne County Court. The letter was signed by Brian Gabriel, an attorney at the firm.In a new letter dated July 21, Gabriel notes there has been no response from the JOC and asks the committee &#8220;and participating school districts to reconsider their refusal to allow Crestwood to have its rightful complement of membership on the JOC.&#8220;Crestwood does not wish to spend any taxpayers&#8217; dollars unnecessarily, or to cause the participating school districts to incur legal fees,&#8221; if the matter can be settled out of court, Gabriel wrote, adding that Crestwood isn&#8217;t seeking an immediate change by ousting a sitting JOC member.&#8220;Crestwood intends to ask the court for relief that is prospective only,&#8221; Gabriel wrote, &#8220;and that would allow Crestwood to appoint a second member to the JOC following the expiration of the term of a current JOC member.&#8221;The letter closed by asking for a voluntary reorganization of the JOC &#8220;by no later than Aug. 31, 2015.The letter was sent to the center&#8217;s Chief School Administrator, a role currently filled by Wilkes-Barre Area School District Superintendent Bernard Prevuznak, and to the centers Acting Administrative Director Frank Majikes. It was copied to the superintendents of Hanover Area, Greater Nanticoke Area and Pittston Area.JOC co-solicitor Ray Wendolowski said he couldn&#8217;t comment without discussing the letter with the parties involved. Wendolowski is also solicitor of Wilkes-Barre Area School Board, and the other co-solicitor, Jack Dean, is solicitor for Crestwood, so the JOC could end up retaining outside council to avoid any conflict.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Mark Guydishmguydish@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</shirttailMeta></div>

Crestwood pushes legal challenge for another seat on technical center board