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Tom Sestito sticking with the Penguins

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Service 1st supports National Multiple Sclerosis

WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The Wilkes-Barre Area School District has internally posted a newly created position for a &#8220;STEM headmaster,&#8221; just days after approving a budget that suspends most or all of four programs to save money.Those savings may now also be diminished by a surge in requests for sabbaticals, almost all of which appear to be for teachers in those suspended programs. If the sabbatical teachers are being furloughed, they won&#8217;t be working come August but will be getting half salary for the year.Solicitor Raymond Wendolowski confirmed the district posted for a headmaster for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program. While Wendolowski stressed anyone could apply for the job and wouldn&#8217;t comment on possible candidates, the new position seems a likely fit for Keith Eberts, who faced furlough due to lack of seniority or alternate certifications.Eberts has been instrumental in developing the STEM program, and is a ubiquitous presence whenever students show off their projects. But he has only seven years in the profession and a single certification: industrial arts, one of four programs the school board voted in May to suspend.The night the vote was held, Eberts spoke passionately about how he helped turn industrial arts from &#8220;a dumping ground&#8221; into &#8220;a genuine engineering class.&#8221; Some students now wait two years to get into the class, he said.Wendolowski also said the board had to approve the sabbatical requests granted Tuesday even if the teachers were being furloughed. He said case law in Pennsylvania makes it clear that a teacher can take a sabbatical after being furloughed as long as he or she is legally qualified for a sabbatical prior to the furlough.While the district has yet to release a full list of those being furloughed, the positions of those requesting sabbaticals were threatened by the program suspensions.Seven of those granted sabbaticals were listed as art teachers in state data: Mary Kovalchik, Kerry Ann Flaherty, Ann Gubitose, Lauren Mascioli, Larissa Goldstein, Susan Shaw and James Butterwick. Gubitose, Flaherty and Goldstein all spoke out against the program cuts at the May 23 school board meeting.Sabbaticals were granted to two family and consumer scientist teachers: Deborah Pride and Joyce Struck. Industrial arts teachers Ronald Swingle and Ralph Mancuso also applied for sabbaticals, but only Swingle&#8217;s was approved. The agenda called for rejecting Mancuso&#8217;s because he did not work the minimum requirement of 10 years in public education. The board tabled that vote.High school technology teacher Scott Parkison also was granted a sabbatical, though he had far more years in the district than the others &#8212; 28.At Tuesday&#8217;s meeting, the board voted to restore three art teacher positions, one for each high school. The administration will determine which three keep their jobs. Going by seniority, Flaherty, Kovalchik and Gubitose all rank high among art teachers.Wendolowski said that a furloughed teacher who was granted sabbatical could rescind the request if his or her position is restored.According to the contract, a teacher is eligible for a sabbatical after 10 years of satisfactory teaching experience in the state and five consecutive years in the district. Subsequent leaves may be granted after each seven years. The board can limit the sabbaticals in a given year to 10 percent of employees eligible for leave.Contractually, a teacher must agree to return to service for at last one year, though the contract allows waiving that requirement &#8220;under unusual circumstances or as a result of prolonged illness.&#8221;Asked if a furloughed teacher could take sabbatical, earn certification in a different field during the time off and come back to bump a less senior teacher in that field, Wendolowski said he doesn&#8217;t think so.When the board voted to suspend the programs in May, teachers had until June 10 to secure any new certifications from the state before the district finalized the list of those being furloughed. Wendolowski said that deadline should apply to teachers regardless of what they do on sabbatical.Teachers on sabbatical receive half pay for one year. Based on state data from 2014-15, the 11 teachers granted sabbatical Tuesday would be eligible for a combined total of at least $372,453 while on off next year.<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 posts new position, grants sabbaticals amid furloughs