Belle Vernon cuts counseling position
Belle Vernon School Board voted 6-3 Monday to abolish the director of counseling position as part of its budget plan.
Dr. John Wilkinson, school district superintendent, said abolishing this position at the high school was a logical move in order to save the district money. The director of counseling, Stephanie McHugh, is being transferred into the position of counselor at a salary of $92,125. Wilkinson said McHugh does a great job, and he hopes to the see the programs and initiatives she started as the director of counseling continue.
Wilkinson said the high school stuents will have more access to counseling than students in lower grades, but they will still have the support of the department chair as well as the principal, who will be taking on more responsibility for counseling. Board President Joe Grata added that the students in kindergarten through eighth grade still have access to the elementary counselors.
Grata said by abolishing this position, the district can save the salary that would have been paid if someone was hired to fill a vacancy created after counselor Maria Weightman resigned. Grata said he estimates the district will be saving about $100,000 a year by abolishing the position.
Director Aaron J. Bialon voted against abolishing the position, saying it is the wrong move and will not help the students move forward. “K-8 is where you want to begin and move forward. It sounds like we are regressing,” Bialon said.
Board Secretary Daniel Sepesky also voted against the action, saying it will hurt the students. “Our kids are going to pay the price,” Sepesky said.
Director Joel Whiteko provided an update on the OpTerra Energy Services renovations that are going on at the high school. Whiteko said the roofing, piping and air conditioning work is on schedule. “The schools are going through a complete renovation in the next two or three years,” Whiteko said.
Wilkinson said there will be no air conditioning at the high school for about six weeks. He said the contractor has not had enough time to get air conditioning in working order, but began the project because of concerns about having the heating system ready for the winter because of miles of pipe under the school in disrepair.
Marla McCloskey, who is employed in the district, addressed the board about the lack of air conditioning for the first month or so of school. She said as parent, she is concerned about the high temperatures students may experience and the health issues it may cause.
“These kids were raised in air conditioning,” McCloskey said. She said that since they are so used to air conditioning, the higher temperatures they may experience could be a danger to their health.