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No tax hike planned in Dorrance Township

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Nanticoke Police searching for man who allegedly robbed Burger King

<p>HANOVER TWP. &#8212; The Hanover Area School Board appointed a new business manager by a narrow majority Tuesday, giving Robert Kachurak the job at a starting salary of $95,000 a year. The vote was 5-4. Paul Holmgren, Kevin Quaglia, Stacy McGovern and Joseph Steininger voted against the hire without comment.</p><p>Asked by one audience member how the district could afford the salary when board members have been saying for months the district is &#8220;broke,&#8221; Solicitor Jack Dean said former business manager Tom Cipriano had been making $85,000, and that $95,000 was in line with salaries for other business managers running a district with a $32 million annual budget.</p><p>Dean also said the board was negotiating for concessions on health care coverage that could make up for the $10,000 more in salary for Kachurak. Board Member Vince Kopko said he had $10,000 in savings in this year&#8217;s annual district audit, which he said makes up for the pay increase.</p><p>Kopko also said Kachurak has experience auditing school boards, &#8220;which I think is very important.</p><p>Kachurak works for Zavada &amp; Associates, the company the district has hired in the past to conduct a state-mandated annual audit. Dean said Zavada has not worked directly with the district other than on a few aspects of the annual audit.</p><p>Kachurak will replace Cipriano, whose summer departure was followed by numerous allegations of fiscal mismanagement.</p><p>Cipriano&#8217;s contract was set to expire in September, but the board voted in March to notify him of intent not to renew. Cipriano sought, but was not granted, a Voluntary Employee Separation Program incentive offered this summer to encourage older, higher-paid employees to retire.</p><p>Cipriano landed a new job with the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit on July 19. He threatened to sue the Hanover Area Board over denial of the VESP incentive. The board countered by voting in September to have the solicitor look into the possibility of legal action to recoup money lost during Cipriano&#8217;s tenure as business manager.</p><p>Dean said there were seven or eight applicants for the post, and that four were interviewed.</p><style>
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<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>

Hanover Area appoints new business manager at $95,000 starting salary