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<p>KINGSTON &#8212; The Wyoming Valley West School Board again named Joseph Mazur as president, voting at Wednesday night&#8217;s reorganization meeting to give him a fourth term in the role.</p><p>David Usavage was chosen as vice president, also for the fourth time.</p><p>James Fender credited both men with their handling of the district&#8217;s situation after mold was detected during September in Valley West&#8217;s Middle School.</p><p>&#8220;Within three hours, we were in executive session, and we decided that we wanted everyone out of the building,&#8221; he said. &#8220;These two men exhibited excellent leadership.&#8221;</p><p>At that point, Fender said, the board found itself with middle school students who didn&#8217;t have a school building to attend. He again credited both men with working to implement a half-day schedule at the district&#8217;s high school, which, Fender said, provided consistent education for both middle school and high school students.</p><p>Initially it was believed the mold problem would keep students out of the building for three months or more; but they returned to their home building on Chester Street before the Thanksgiving holiday.</p><p>The Middle School building has been given a clean bill of health by environmental consultant Joseph A. Cocciardi and Associates. The district&#8217;s Schuyler Avenue and Chester Street elementary school buildings, as well as the high school, also have been tested, with results reflecting an &#8220;unremarkable&#8221; amount of mold, Mazur said.</p><p>District Superintendent Irvin Deremer said the district was committed in the future to consistently testing all of its buildings. &#8220;We plan to do complete inspections of our buildings during the summers,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And to have our maintenance staff be aware of anything that can be identified visually.&#8221;</p><p>The board named Fender, Thomas Pieczynski and Gary Richards as representatives to the West Side Career and Technology Center&#8217;s Joint Operating Committee, with Usavage as an alternate.</p><p>Pieczynski, who took charge of the gavel as the board&#8217;s temporary president during the election of officers, took the opportunity to thank his fellow school board members. &#8220;These are fine people,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They are ready to help. We see them often at the school and especially at the administration building.&#8221;</p><p>The next meeting of the Wyoming Valley West School Board is scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 18.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WVW School Board’s ‘reorganization’ looks familiar; Mazur, Usavage retain leadership posts