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Cubs’ Joe Maddon responds to Times Leader editorial on Hazleton

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W-B Area Superintendent sets town hall meetings at high schools

<p>HANOVER TWP. &#8212; Acting Superintendent William Jones rattled off a litany of newly discovered costs Tuesday that he said are forcing Hanover Area School Board to curb spending by not replacing three retired teachers and two part-time custodians.</p><p>He cited nearly $1 million past due in pension fund payments, a $162,000 loan interest payment, and two years worth of back taxes owed for a successful assessment appeal, among other things.</p><p>&#8220;We are in financial distress,&#8221; Jones told the school board at its monthly meeting. &#8220;So much information withheld from the board is coming to light.&#8221;</p><p>Jones and board member Vic Kopko laid the blame squarely on the leadership of former Business Manager Tom Cipriano, who landed a new job outside the county after the board voted not to renew his contract this September, and former Superintendent Andrew Kuhl, who negotiated a deal to leave the post two years before his contract expired.</p><p>Jones said the board learned it owed the teacher pension fund, managed by the Public School Employee Retirement System (PSERS), $961,000 and did not have the money. PSERS began taking the money from subsidies the state pays six times a year to the district, but at a cost: PSERS fined the district $40,000 in five months.</p><p>Jones also said the district discovered it owed a $162,000 interest payment on a short-term Tax Anticipation Note taken out annually to cover costs until tax revenue starts coming in. He said the district had only about two hours to make the payment after learning it was due, and had to scramble to arrange a transfer from a bank holding money from a long-term loan to the bank that gave the TAN loan.</p><p>Jones said the board discovered a $5,100 transportation bill it had believed was not supposed to be charged, and that a property owner who had won a successful assessment appeal was due three years worth of refunds on taxes, but was only paid for one year.</p><p>No one named Kuhl and Cipriano, but Board President John Mahle said &#8220;No one is blaming the board, and no one is blaming the teachers.&#8221; After the meeting, Jones was more blunt, saying the problems resulted &#8220;because we had two people at the top abruptly leave&#8221; without revealing the issues.</p><p>Kopko said the board had also been told $5 million had been paid on a loan from First Keystone Community Bank when it had not been paid; that $350,000 owed for health insurance had not been paid; and that &#8220;certain vendors were double paid while certain vendors were not paid at all.&#8221;</p><p>At the end of the meeting, Kopko read a statement calling on the district to contact the state Department of Education and ask to enter the Early Warning Financial Recovery program. He said that would lead to state help in sorting out the problems and would allow the district to &#8220;request acceleration of subsidy payments.&#8221; Kopko also said the board wants to refinance long-term debt to reduce annual debt payments.</p><p>Despite all the revelations, Jones insisted the goal is to avoid layoffs and program cuts. &#8220;We are looking at every way we can to save money. The board&#8217;s position is that we want to keep people on the job, and to keep the jobs.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">William Jones, Hanover Area acting superintendent</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_bjones.jpg</photo0><caption0>William Jones, Hanover Area acting superintendent</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Superintendent: Hanover Area finding new fiscal problems daily