Superintendent Bartley to retire
WAYNESBURG – Medical necessity and family obligations were the reasons cited by Central Greene School District Superintendent Jerome Bartley in a letter to the school board for his plan to retire, effective Jan. 1.
“I considered retirement last year at the end of the 2011-12 school year after 36 years of service and began talking to the board in January about retirement,” Bartley said. “Due to my current medical condition, I am unable to continue as superintendent. Our first grandchild was born this past year and two more grandchildren are on the way, and I would like to spend more time with my wife and family.”
Bartley has served as the superintendent in the district for the past 10 years with 15 years of service in the district overall.
District solicitor Kirk King called Bartley the, “consummate professional.”
“He has always had the best interests of the children of the district, first and foremost, in his mind,” King said. “He has been respectful of the past but mindful of the future in a responsible manner.”
The board extended its well wishes and gratitude to Bartley as well.
After advertising and receiving four bids for Perry Elementary School in Mt. Morris, the district is again considering its options for the future of the building. Among the bids submitted for the property were a low bid of $40,000 and a high bid of $355,000 if the mineral rights were included. That was never an option and was specifically spelled out in the advertised bid request.
Board members said the amounts were simply too low for a prime piece of property that is right along the Interstate.
Under professional staff, the board added Debbie Konosky to the substitute list for the elementary school and granted an unpaid child rearing leave, beginning Jan. 17 and continuing to Jan. 17, 2014, for elementary teacher Nicole Stephenson.
Under noninstructional staff, the board approved a transfer for custodian Ricky Teets from his position at Margaret Bell Miller Middle School to a vacant dayshift janitor position at the high school and a transfer for Brenda Dulaney from her janitor position at the elementary school to a vacant afternoon janitor position at the middle school, both effective Nov. 26. The board also approved Alexander Evanoff as a noninstructional substitute for the remainder of the school year.
The board accepted several recommendations by the personnel committee and administration regarding coaching positions. It accepted the resignations of Mark Kuhn, assistant junior high wrestling coach; Chris Benson, head girls soccer coach; and Dusty Henderson, assistant varsity wrestling coach. Robert Stephenson was hired to fill the assistant junior high wrestling coach position, and Scott Headlee was hired to fill the assistant varsity wrestling coach job. All of these moves are effective immediately.
The board accepted the resignation of Waynesburg Central Elementary teacher Lori Greene from the Central Greene Curriculum Council and replaced her with elementary teacher Amanda Bochna for the remainder of the school year.
Four student teachers from West Virginia University were approved for the 2012-13 school year: Dane Corbet, Marc Zeno, Keira McCabe and Amy Sibert.
In another matter, board member Mike Ames questioned the decision to cancel the middle school band’s Christmas concert this year. District technology coordinator Matt Blair told Ames the administration feels confident supporting the decision by middle school band director Mark McCollum to cancel the concert. Blair said McCollum does not feel the band is ready for the performance, but there may be another concert during this school year.
As a reminder, the Central Greene School District Comprehensive Plan is available for public review on the district website, in all district buildings and at Bowlby Public Library until Nov. 30. The board accepted the recommendation of the administration Tuesday to approve and submit the plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Education at that time.