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Man sent to hospital after early morning shooting in Wilkes-Barre

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Their view: Trump gave conventional UN speech

<p style="text-align: left;">The knee-jerk reaction is to kvetch when one sees high salaries for educators. But teachers are, in fact, often paid less than professionals in the private sector with the same level of education. A more valid complaint is that a teacher license should require more rigor &#8212; higher college-grade thresholds or a minimum of a master&#8217;s degree, say. Raising the standards <em>and </em>the pay could be a good way to increase respect for teachers as well as improve retention and satisfaction in the job.</p><p>That said, if you felt outrage upon seeing the rapid pay escalation of <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/675769/guariglia-gets-110000-in-contract-as-administrative-director-at-wba-ctc" target="_blank">Anthony Guariglia</a> at Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center, you were justified.</p><p>It&#8217;s justified because of the size of the raises when many people paying the taxes that pay him have seen little or no pay increase for the past decade.</p><p>In 2011, Guariglia was principal at West Side CTC with a salary of $79,950. He got a raise to $82,000 to become assistant principal at Wilkes-Barre Area CTC. Last October, he was up to $93,700, according to state records. With stipends, he made about $103,000, said Solicitor Jack Dean. His new contract as administrative director will set his salary at $110,000, Dean added.</p><p>That&#8217;s a $30,050 pay increase &#8212; nearly 38 percent &#8212; in just six years.</p><p>The outrage is also justified because Guariglia&#8217;s rise has always felt tainted with the stench of politics. In 2011, he was not only a Pittston Area School Board member, he was that board&#8217;s representative on the Joint Operating Committee that runs the Wilkes-Barre Area CTC. He resigned from the JOC in September, and two months later was offered the job of assistant principal &#8212;a new position, though JOC members insisted it was merely filling a need left unmet when a different administrative post went unfilled for several years.</p><p>The feel of politics is reinforced by the fact the posts of assistant principal and assistant administrative director disappeared in this year&#8217;s CTC budget, approved the same day the JOC made Guariglia administrative director.</p><p>The JOC vote division for Guariglia adds to the political criticism. The 11-member JOC is comprised of representatives from the five districts that send students to the school, apportioned according to number of students from each. Wilkes-Barre Area School District sends by far the most students, and thus has five seats on the JOC. The only Wilkes-Barre Area representative who has consistently supported Guariglia&#8217;s rise and pay increases is John Quinn, whose son landed a job at the CTC.</p><p>Those Wilkes-Barre Area representatives who voted against Guariglia at one point or another cannot be completely absolved. The other candidate for the administrative director post had been Patrick Patte, principal of Wilkes-Barre Area&#8217;s Coughlin High School.</p><p>None of this, of course, means Guariglia is unsuitable for the job. Indeed, he may be an ideal choice. It does, however, make it important that he excel at the post, defying the appearance of politics and justifying the rapid pay hikes.</p><p style="text-align: right;"><em> &#8212; Times Leader</em></p><style>
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Our View: Wilkes-Barre Area CTC boss must excel to justify pay hikes