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<p>HANOVER TWP. &#8212; Frank Ciavarella stepped down as president of the Hanover Area School Board during a special meeting Wednesday, and the board voted to have former president John Mahle fill the post.</p><p>Ciavarella did not resign from the board.</p><p>&#8220;I guess the board had confidence in my experience,&#8221; Mahle said after the meeting, &#8220;I&#8217;ve been here a long time.&#8221;</p><p>Ciavarella&#8217;s position came under the spotlight when the district discovered an overpayment for a transportation contract with his parents, Frank J. and Dorothy Ciavarella.</p><p>Through a series of circumstances that involved the state Auditor General&#8217;s office and Department of Education, it was determined Frank J. and Dorothy Ciavarella received $250,000 more than they should have for annual transportation that involved about 15 students.</p><p>Solicitor Jack Dean has said the error appears to be on the district&#8217;s side because accurate mileage was submitted to the district for payment of the services, but higher mileage was submitted by the district to the state, which reimburses districts for some transportation costs.</p><p>The board has been trying to recoup the money.</p><p>Frank Ciavarella abstained from a June 2017 vote to give the contract to his parents, acknowledging the relationship. After the overpayment was found the board voted to terminate the contract earlier this month, he recused himself from that vote as well.</p><p>He does, however, appear to have voted to approve payment of bills to his parents through that period. Like many area school boards, Hanover Area does not list detailed payments approved at each meeting in either the agendas or the approved minutes. But agendas routinely include a motion to &#8220;ratify the following PNC check registers&#8221; for one month, lumped with other items under the heading &#8220;financial.&#8221;</p><p>A review of minutes posted on the district website for the board&#8217;s regular meetings from July 2017 through December 2018 shows Ciavarella voted yes at those meetings.</p><p>In responding to the discovery of the overpayment, the district also changed procedures involving transportation bookkeeping, and suspended Superintendent William Jones with pay. Jones has retained Charles Coslett as his attorney, and the two showed up at a special meeting Feb. 15 held for the sole purpose of naming Elementary Principal Terry Schnee as acting superintendent.</p><p>After that meeting, Coslett said he believes the board may have violated the terms of Jones&#8217; contract by not informing him of an investigation into his performance &#8220;prior to the commencement&#8221; of such an investigation. Coslett also noted that Jones did not receive any documentation regarding the reasons for the suspension, and was not given a chance to defend himself against any allegation.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Hanover Area School Board President Frank Ciavarella, right, presides over a recent Hanover Area School Board meeting in this file photo. At a special meeting Wednesday Ciavarella stepped down as president while remaining on the board, and John Mahle was elected to fill the post. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020619Hanover-mg_2-1-1-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hanover Area School Board President Frank Ciavarella, right, presides over a recent Hanover Area School Board meeting in this file photo. At a special meeting Wednesday Ciavarella stepped down as president while remaining on the board, and John Mahle was elected to fill the post. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>He stays on board, however</subheadMeta></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>

Ciavarella steps down as Hanover Area president amid bus issue, but stays on board