FACTORYVILLE — Lackawanna Trail High School will soon welcome a new face to the building.
Members of the Board of Education voted, 8-0, to approve the appointment of Lindsey Rager as a high school French teacher at a prorated salary of $47,500 during a regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 12. Board member Ned Clarke was absent.
Members of the board voted, 7-0, to approve the resignation of high school French teacher Denise Hall, effective immediately, during the district’s August meeting.
Superintendent of Schools Matthew Rakauskas believes Rager should begin teaching later this month.
Members of the board voted, 6-2, to approve the appointment of Donna Biglin as the mentor for special education teacher Tiffany Carpenter at a stipend of $450.
Board members Michael Mould and Joseph Strauch voted no, citing the same reason.
“I approve of Miss Biglin as a mentor, but I don’t agree with the $450,” Mould said.
Rakauskas announced the payment is part of the district’s contractual agreement.
“Any new teacher to the district receives a formal mentor,” Rakauskas said. “They spend a lot of time with them helping with lesson plans and other tasks. It’s better for the teachers and it’s better for the kids.”
According to Rakauskas, the district has been pleased with the management of its cafeterias by The Nutrition Group. The full-service food and facilities management company was selected to serve as the Food Service Management Company for the 2016-17 school year during a meeting in April.
“In October, The Nutrition Group will roll out its menu,” Rakauskas said. “By code, they had to use the same menu the district previously used for the first month of school.”
Another added bonus the group provides in a pin code system at the high school.
“All students have their own account and pin number,” Rakauskas said. “Parents can manage the accounts online by adding money through cash, check or credit card, view how much money is left in the account and track spending habits.”
Rakauskas also believes the district is making a successful transition with the outsourcing of its substitute calling through Kelly Services.
“Before if a high school teacher requested a day off, they would have to get the request to Principal Mark Murphy in writing,” Rakauskas said. “With his approval, it was then transported to the elementary center with all the other mail where I would check to make sure the person had enough days and send my approval back to teacher.
“It was a bit of a lengthy process and used lot of paper. Now, the teacher requests the day off online, Murphy gets an email and either denies or approves the day off. I get a notification and either approve or deny the request. It’s certainly going to save some paper, which is going to save some money. It also makes things more efficient.”
Murphy recognized sophomore student Joshua Rosengrant for his achievement at a national medical conference.
According to Murphy, the medical advisory board of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists conferred honors and distinction upon Rosengrant for outstanding academic performance, leadership potential and dedication to serving humanity through the profession of medicine during the Future Medical Leaders Conference in Boston, Mass. this past June.
Members of the board voted, 7-1, to appoint Jody Kwiatkowski as an assistant girls basketball coach at a stipend of $3,900 and Ashley Chuck as an assistant girls volleyball coach at a stipend of $2,725.
In both motions, Strauch voted no, since the hiring is not an academic expense.
The Lackawanna Trail Board of Education will meet for a regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11 at the elementary center, 179 College Ave., Factoryville.
