Feb 2, 2020 2 min read

Belle Vernon Area School District board members approved the first reading of a new nepotism policy this week that would allow relatives of supervisory staff to apply for positions within the district.

Currently, applicants cannot apply for positions if they are related to school board members, commissioned officers of the district or supervisory personnel.

The new policy would lift restrictions for relatives of supervisory personnel to apply for district jobs. However, those individuals could not work directly under a relative who has supervisory responsibilities.

“We want to bring in the best possible candidates for district positions,” said Superintendent Dr. Michele Dowell.

Dr. Dowell added all applicants would go through two rounds of interviews in front of district administrators and other staff.

Voting in favor of the first reading of the nepotism policy were Dan Engstrom, Kathleen Forte, Joe Grata, Dan Kovatch, Stacey Livengood and Joel Whiteko. Michelle Calloway-Rodriquez and Justin Kosanko voted against the policy while Robert Harhai abstained because two of his relatives work for the district.

The board is expected to vote on the new nepotism policy during its February meeting.

Also, during the meeting, auditor Mark Tunrley presented the district’s audit, noting Belle Vernon Area School District has an unassigned fund balance of $1.34 million – amounting to roughly 3.4% of the district’s budget.

In other business, the board:

• Voted 8-1 to approve separation agreements for two students. Calloway-Rodriquez voted against the separation agreements because of concerns that those students will not get the best possible educational experience at home. She also asked if the separation agreements followed state law. However, Solicitor Ira Weiss stated that the separation agreements are valid because they were approved by parents of the students who will be kept out of classes for 45 days for disciplinary reasons.
• Approved an Act 1 Resolution not to raise taxes above Belle Vernon’s 3.5 percent index for the 2020-2021 school year. Grata noted that no decision has been made yet about any potential tax increases.
• Accepted a $1,319 donation from the Fayette City/Washington Township Lions Club, which will be used to help pay for lunches for needy students at Marion Elementary School.