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Your view: Bring common sense back to the country

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Community forum helps seniors avoid being scammed

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The fate of students at GAR Memorial High School dominated this week&#8217;s Wilkes-Barre Area School Board meeting, but the board did conduct regular business, including setting the date and times for graduation. Directors also amended a contract with long-time construction management firm Apollo Inc.</p><p>The board approved a new 2017-18 school calendar with only one remaining holiday, Memorial Day, before the last day of classes and graduation coincide on June 15. As has been tradition, the commencements will be held in fairly rapid succession for each school: 9:30 a.m. at Meyers High School, 11 a.m. for Coughlin High School at the F.M. Kirby Center, and 1 p.m. at GAR.</p><p>The board also approved a change to the contract with Apollo. District Solicitor Ray Wendolowski said it addresses the higher-ticket costs associated with work on a new consolidated high school. Wendolowski said there was no adjustment in the terms of the contract for bigger projects. Apollo generally receives a percentage of the cost of contract work it oversees, and the change reduces the percentage as the cost rises for bigger projects. Wendolowski did not have details at the meeting.</p><p>The board also approved creation of a &#8220;capital reserve fund,&#8221; a move authorized by a state law passed in April 1943. That law allows counties, municipalities and school districts to create such a fund &#8220;separate and apart from any other fund&#8221; that can be invested in securities with interest from the investment going only into the fund itself.</p><p>The money is to be spent &#8220;only during the post war period,&#8221; a phrase that clearly dates the law.</p><p>The fund can be spent &#8220;only for capital improvements and for replacement of and additions to public works and improvements, and for deferred maintenance thereof, and for the purchase or the replacement of school buses, and for no other purpose.&#8221;</p><p>The board also approved two contracts under the federal &#8220;E-rate program,&#8221; also known as the &#8220;universal service schools and libraries program.&#8221; It provides up to 90 percent of the funding for school and library spending on certain costs. The district will will receive the maximum for both contracts, leaving it to pay only 10 percent of the total.</p><p>The board approved a contract with IntegraOne for equipment that totals $686,186, with the district paying only about $68,000. The second contract was a five-year service agreement for Penteledata for the building-to building wide area network, at a total cost of $15,800 a month.</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>

WB Area sets graduation date, changes contract with project manager