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For overcoming adversity, Wyoming Area’s Grace Gober named UNICO’s Brian Piccolo Award recipient at annual dinner

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<p>KINGSTON &#8212; The Wyoming Valley West School District lost a superintendent Wednesday night, but gained a new contract with its teachers union.</p><p>The school board accepted the retirement of Superintendent Chuck Suppon at its monthly meeting. The board also agreed to a five-year contract proposal from the teachers&#8217; union.</p><p>Board president Joe Mazur said the contract will save the district about $3 million per year as it deals with budget woes. The board was forced to raise taxes 6.3 percent last year.</p><p>Teachers met prior to the board meeting and voted to ratify the proposal, according to Wyoming Valley West teachers&#8217; union president Linda Houck.</p><p>&#8220;The contract reflects modest salary increases and is basically a continuation of the previous contract,&#8221; Houck said. &#8220;This is now settled, and the district has some peace and stability and can move on to other things.&#8221;</p><p>The contract calls for a 2.5 percent increase in teachers&#8217; salaries over five years, or a .5 percent increase annually, according to board member David Usavage.</p><p>The teachers have been working under the terms of an expired contract since September 2015.</p><p>&#8220;I want to commend the teachers,&#8221; Mazur said. &#8220;I want to commend both sides for working together and being willing to negotiate.&#8221;</p><p>Mazur said Suppon&#8217;s decision to retire was entirely his own.</p><p>&#8220;I just think that his fishing pole was calling,&#8221; Mazur said.</p><p>Board member James Fender reminded those in attendance that Suppon had been a student athlete, a teacher and a principal in the district.</p><p>District Finance Officer Joe Rodriguez cautioned the board regarding the recent passage of the state budget.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of excitement about its passage,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But parts of it are unfunded or underfunded. It&#8217;s a constant battle.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Houck </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_houck-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Houck </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Superintendent Chuck Suppon resigns</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>What&#8217;s next</p><p>The next meeting of the Wyoming Valley West School Board is scheduled for 7 p.m. on June 8.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wyoming Valley West Superintendent Chuck Suppon to retire July 1; teachers agree to contract