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20,000 train passes go unsold for pope’s Philadelphia visit

Letter to the Editor: Allow Wilkes-Barre Area residents to vote on district’s high schools

PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center Joint Operating Committee voted to bump the son of Joint Operating Committee Member John Quinn from long-term substitute to full-time teacher Tuesday night.The committee also set up a potential legal battle with Crestwood School District regarding the number of representatives Crestwood gets on the 11-member JOC. Crestwood has argued repeatedly it is entitled to a second seat under the rules of the agreement signed by all members, and hired Pittsburgh Attorney Brian Gabriel to press the case in court if necessary.On Tuesday the JOC voted to hire local attorney Charles Coslett to represent the center in any legal proceedings. The JOC&#8217;s two co-solicitors both said they have conflicts preventing them from handling any such legal disputes: Attorney Ray Wendolowski is solicitor for Wilkes-Barre Area School Board and Attorney John Dean is solicitor at Crestwood.The younger Quinn, also named John, was hired as a long-term substitute teacher last November. On Tuesday he was hired to fill a newly-created position as a career academic accountability resource program instructor, which acting Director and Principal Frank Majikes said was &#8220;established to meet the need of instructing and tutoring struggling students.&#8220;We&#8217;re hoping to retain students that might have been failing and keep them from returning to their home district,&#8221; Majikes said. The center has students for half a day, providing career and technical training. Academic classes are handled at the sending district&#8217;s school.Majikes said the new position also involves &#8220;designing other programs of study, including online,&#8221; and that those new programs could make additional certifications available.As an example, he cited auto mechanic classes, where a small group of students may leave the regular, hands-on classes to do online work. The younger Quinn would handle the computer sessions, leaving the regular teacher to work with the other students.The younger Quinn was the only applicant for the position, Majikes said, despite advertising several times in newspapers and posting the position on the center&#8217;s website. In contrast, a teacher associate position drew 15 applicants.The JOC hired Nadine Federici for that post.Quinn&#8217;s teaching post pays a bit more than $45,000 starting salary, while the teacher associate pays $32,500, Majikes said.Crestwood&#8217;s dispute about representation centers on a clause in the agreement signed by five member districts that spells out how the 11 seats on the JOC are filled. Crestwood has argued the clause is clear: Representation is based on district population as determined by the U.S. Census.Crestwood has been arguing that the 2010 census showed it was the only district to gain population, and that it surpassed Greater Nanticoke Area, which means Crestwood &#8212; currently with only one seat &#8212; should gain a seat and Greater Nanticoke Area should lose one of the two seats it holds.Gene Mancini, the Crestwood representative on the JOC, delivered a letter to the committee in June announcing the district had retained Gabriel. Gabriel sent a second letter July 21 seeking a resolution to the request for a second seat no later than Aug. 31.On Tuesday, with two members absent, the JOC voted to retain Coslett in the dispute. Voting against the move were Mancini, Denise Thomas and James Susek, both from Wilkes-Barre Area School Board.The vote to hire Quinn&#8217;s son was 5-2, with Mancini and Susek voting no, and it sparked debate about adopting an anti-nepotism policy, first proposed by Mancini in February.At the time, Mancini suggested the JOC adopt the same policy that had been approved by the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board in September, but several JOC members balked, including Quinn, who said the issue needed to be studied.Wilkes-Barre Area has five members on the JOC.<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>

Wilkes-Barre Area Career Center hires John Quinn’s son full-time