Celebrating the season, some Holiday gifts for the BOARD and others

Here are a few gifts I wish for some members of the Trinity Board and administration would get this Holiday Season!
Sandra Clutter - Her own toy bus world, where she could put stop signs and anything else where she wanted and also to be givin the title of bus queen. [oops she is known as the bus queen]
Scott Day - Athletic ability so he could really talk about sports without people laughing.
Colleen Interval - A big bag to put all the balls she counts in and a personality.
Henry Clemens - The same as Sandy only you are the bus king!
Jack Keisling - A chance to pick another superintendent as qualified and as mild mannered as your first choice.
Tom Bodnovich - A WPIAL Gold Medal that you could show everyone and tell people about your imagined accomplishments as you retire from our Board to return to your home on fantasy island.
Tamara Salvatori - A phone with unlimited text and cell calls.
Dennis McWreath - The courage to speak in front of people the way you talk behind their backs.
James Knapp - A mental health evaluation for serving with the before mentioned elite eight on this board.

Dr. Paul Kasunich - The book "Ghandi"
Mr. Dennis Makel - The starting solicitor job for the school district instead of second string.
Mr. Donald Snoke - The title Principal/Athletic Director if that is what you really want to be at Trinity.
Mr. Bobby Jones - All of the Milli Vanilli albums, you understand them better than most.
Mr. Ed Dalton - The top sports story of 2011 instead of the number two story, "Dalton awarded 1,000,000 by judge"
Trinity Area School District Parents - Our School District back to normal!

SCOTT DAY CLAIMS DALTON AND STAFF WILL BE GONE IN JANUARY!

Allegedly, Board Member Scott Day has told people that Ed Dalton and the football staff will be gone in January.  Day who wants a relative to be the football coach and the athletic director has been allegedly unhappy with Ed Dalton ever since he would not fire former Wrestling Coach Jeff Bricker.  Day, actually according to a very good source wanted to himself evaluate Jeff Bricker, who was a two time collegiate All American in Wrestling, and won two WPIAL Team Wrestling Championships as a coach. Scott Day's wrestling resume included being a fan and he quit wrestling in high school according to classmates of Day.  This should make the Christmas Holidays interesting and will really unite our group again for January. [get the auditorium ready]
Remember Athletic Director Bobby Jones told the fall coaches that NO positions would be opened from the fall season and that neither he or Superintendent Paul Kasunich would support or recommend such a move of opening a coaching position.  But maybe Kasunich had to make some promises to keep his job!
Not that Athletic Czar Scott Day cares but our football team has made the WPIAL playoffs six consecutive years and was the only Trinity Fall Sports team to make the playoffs this year, posting a 6 & 3 mark tying for second in the section before losing to West Allegheny.  The Hiller Football Program has been 36 - 19 over the past 6 regular seasons, 2 and 6 in the playoffs.  Dalton has about 140 career wins about 60 of those at Trinity.  I received this information from the Post Gazette.

ODD AND ENDS AND QUESTIONS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK?

1. Why did the three women Colleen Interval, Tamara Salvatori, and Sandra Clutter, all support the superintendent?
2. Is it true one of the women is trying to get a student removed from her childs classroom because the student is violent?
3. Do we pay health insurance for Dr. Paul Kasunich's ex wife? [what if that benefit existed for every employee, no wonder he volunteered to pay so much on his health insurance]
4. Is it true Paul Kasunich went to his hockey match the day of the bus accident, and many Trinity Students were taken to the hospital?
5. Why was the PFA removed if Dr. Kasunich was innocent?
6. Does anyone think a polygraph would be a great way for our Superintendent to clear his name?
Finally, I heard our School District is featured in a national magazine including pictures, that will be on stands in January.  Merry Christmas!

Setting the record straight!

Just so everyone knows the facts Sandra Clutter, Colleen Interval, Tamara Salvatori, Scott Day, Jim Knapp, support keeping the Superintendent on the job at full pay.  Jack Keisling, Dennis McWreath, Henry Clemens, and Tom Bodnovich, want Paul Kasunich on unpaid leave.  Its not a mirage! The three women support Dr. Kasunich! 
It is a real possibility that Trinity Area School District Tax Payers will be paying for three seperate lawsuits in court at roughly the same time. 
Our educational consultant Dr. James Manley recommended the following people to our district for employment, Paul Kasunich, Bobby Jones, the Butler law firm, thanks for those blessings.  Are we sure James Manley really wrote that educational review of our school district, and didn't just change some of the words from a review he wrote while at Pine Richland.  We are checking on that factoid!
Are we losing another administrator to another school district? Are we sure Bobby Jones is doing his work or is Don Snoke still saving the day, and if he is who is doing his evaluations and principal work?   Where is our new assistant principal we hired from five hours away is he commuting and misses the entire day, instead of most of the day like our other administrator long distance comuter! And please don't ask the former AD to fix something so we can play a game its embarassing.
 Why did the students stop complaining about the cafeteria?  Praise the lord the slushy machines are back for my children! 
As a former Assistant District Attorney Mr. Makel should stop trying to block people from free speech, and sunshine law rights.  Of all people he should think about how sometimes your own words will comeback to haunt you!

FURTHER LITIGATION AGAINST THE DISTRICT COULD BE FILED AS EARLY AS TOMORROW!

1.Words can't do it justice I will wait and post the news clips after they post them online tonight.
link kdka link paul kasunich
2. Interesting development though, alledgedly both a student, and a coach, were removed from their sports last year, because they were charged with crimes and their names appeared in the paper.  The removal was directed by our current Superintendent Dr. Kasunich, both now have legal representation.
3. Here is an idea, someone said tonight that makes sense, ask Dr. Paul Kasunich to take a polygraph and put an end to this situation quickly!  It happens many times in the corporate world from which he came, he should be all for this to clear his name once and for all.
4. Colleen Interval would not volunteer for a committee, but she now will count all the balls, for the various sports teams.  Tennis is done stay tuned for which balls she counts next.
5. I thought Tom Breth was our attorney who did contracts and employment issues.  Why did Dennis Makel do the contract for the food service director, or is that another lie?
6. Did Paul Kasunich go into the executive session when he was the topic, is that a conflict of interest?
7. Tonights meeting was covered by KDKA, WPXI, WTAE, Observer-Reporter, Post-Gazette, Tribune Review, and probably more.
SUNSHINE LAW POSTED BELOW
http://palwv.org/lwv/pubs/sunshineact.pdf

MOST RECENT PFA VS KASUNICH THIS MATERIAL IS SICK!

PLEASE STOP ISSUING PRESS RELEASES ABOUT HIS REPUTATION BEING GOOD!

READ THE PFA'S AND FORM AN OPINION!

These are the PFA's 2 years ago and the other day against Dr. Paul Kasunich.  They make me sick, enough said form your own opinion. KDKA NEWS TONIGHT LINK IS BELOW MORE KASUNICH EMBARASSMENT http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2010/12/08/trinity-area-school-district-superintendent-reinstated/

KASUNICH POLICE REPORT YOU BE THE JUDGE

THE UGLY TRUTH!

[] It appears reading the language of what the School District is not saying Dr. Paul Kasunich will be allowed to return to work this week.
[] How did the consultant we paid to identify Superintendent candidates not know that Paul Kasunich had a previous PFA withdrawn in 2009.
[] How does Mr. Breth allegedly a personal freind of  Paul Kasunich, not have A MAJOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST in this process.
[] It will be interesting how the representives from the Washington County Battered Women's Group deals with this decision to bring Kasunich back to work.
[] I just hope this groups latest out of town hire from East Stroudsburg, has no issues, or is he going to commute from 5 hours away to work!!
GET YOUR POPCORN FOR THURSDAY, SUPERINTENDENT ISSUES, SOUTH, WOMEN'S SHELTER PROTEST, CONFLICT OF INTEREST, AND WE ARE ELECTING A NEW PRESIDENT FOR THE TRINITY TITANIC!

Did some BOARD members know about the Kasunich assault day[s] earlier?

Wondering how this school district became such a mess so fast.  How many more negative headlines and news stories are we going to see in the coming weeks.  This all comes on the one year anniversary of this terrible board taking office.  Now maybe the most serious allegations of all, how many BOARD Members knew about the arrest and did nothing hoping it would not come to light!  Our sources, say multiple BOARD Members allegedly were told before the BOARD as a group was informed of the crime?  That is like Watergate as the cover up will now become part of the story.  Our group has asked WPXI to ask this question at the next BOARD Meeting.  This should be another embarassing week on the news and in the papers with our school district. 
     On a side note but more negative attention, it appears that a National Magazine has interviewed Coach Dalton and is doing a story on the entire situation. It will be interesting to see the National Magazines take of the entire situation.
     In case you were wondering we are now getting 3000 hits on average per story that we write, good enough to get a sponsor, now thats funny!

I HAVE MANY QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERED BY OUR ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD?

click this link to read post gazette article
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10329/1106074-298.stm

1. Dr. Kasunich was arrested, not the female, therefore Dr. Kasunich was found by the police to have committed a crime , correct?
2. What would we have done to a male student who assaulted a female student, or a teacher, or a coach, or a custodian, or a cafeteria worker, or a principal, or even a volunteer?
3. Don't we have a Board member that already allegedly assaulted an administrator about a year ago on school grounds?
4. When Mr. Bodnovich says Dr. Kasunich enjoys a good reputation according to who?
5. Is Dr. Kasunich divorced, if so why according to his contract is the Trinity Area School District paying his former wife's health insurance?
6. This Board has contracted Nutrician Inc. almost permanently insisted upon by Dr. Kasunich why?
7. This Board hired Bobby Jones, why?
8. This Board hired Dr. Kasunich, why?
9. Who is the alleged other women in this triangle that might tell us much more?
10. Where was Jack Keisling today for the press conference, he told us he picked Dr. Kasunich almost by himself when Dr. Kasunich got hired?
11. Are we really worried about a bullying policy, we all know who the bullies are in this district?  [that will change this spring]
12. Who is going to be the next Board President for this circus act?

Trinity School District Superintendent Accused Of Assault

KASUNICH ARREST VIDEO Superintendent Accused Of Assault

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2010/11/24/trinity-school-board-superintendent-to-meet/

Posted: 4:18 pm EST November 23, 2010
Updated: 4:22 pm EST November 23, 2010

GIBSONIA, Pa. -- The Trinity School District superintendent is facing simple assault charges after police said he got into a physical fight with his girlfriend.
Northern Regional police were called to Dr. Paul Kasunich's home in Gibsonia around 9 p.m. on Monday.
According to investigators, Kasunich threw his girlfriend into a wall after she accused him of cheating. Kasunich told police that the woman tried to attack him with a vase first.
Police said when they arrived, the woman's shirt was nearly torn off her body and she had marks on her back and bruises on her neck.
According to the criminal complaint, "the female started to hit, kick and punch him. She then grabbed a vase and tried to hit him with it. That's when he grabbed her by the throat and pushed her into a wall."

I wonder who the other women is stay tuned?

Remember Jack Keisling hand picked Kasunich, he told us so, nice job Jack!

NOT A PART-TIME JOB!

I have tried to stay off opinion and on facts, it is time to give an opinion based on facts. We removed an Athletic Director who lived for his job, and his involvement with our students(ask a student), and had major influence in the WPIAL and other local athletic organizations. We removed an Athletic Director who pretty much ran the department almost all by himself, scheduling, finances, transportation,equipment,facilities. We removed an athletic director who lives in our community, and had children graduate from our school and who upon being hired here moved into our community with his family. I won't even get into the football coaching side but I will say the cheer at every home game we love Ed Dalton might send a message to the BOARD. We then replaced our Athletic Director with a person who never worked in a high school, never was an Athletic Director, lives an hour from the school ONE WAY, and does not seem to work very hard from EVERYONE's account. But don't take my word for it ask a principal, or a supervisor, or a coach, or a teacher, about how the athletic/activities spectrum is collapsing in our school district. Ask about Powder Puff Football Night, no security, no administrator, no pep rally,NO,NO,NO you get it. You will get an earful, but because most of the administrators, will not talk on the record, because the other outsider, the superintendent, who lives an hour away, and left his first superintendent job, after 1 1/2 years I wonder why? Enough is enough!! SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND no experience, no desire, disaster after disaster, why? To prove a point? Fix this can someone fix this there has to be a solution? Corporations fix promotions and demotions daily, do we want to be in the paper anymore? Lunches, Lawsuits, on and on?

RFP for Cafeteria under investagation?

Yes thats a picture of a full lunch served in our school district!!! A few notes while wondering at what point you put the word gate at the end of the food service drama and call it Nutritiangate. Allegedly the RFP was written by Nutritian Inc. that Trinity used to request vendors, well now this has been reported so stay tuned for further insight. Why did we wait until August to do the request anyway, when we informed the food service director in May? Is it true that Nutritian Inc. asked for and received from Paul Kasunich, free and reduced lunch list at least two weeks prior to being hired as a consultant? Do we really store the food for Washington School Districts Food Service at Trinity East? How do you know what inventory you are using? Did Washington School District really come to the Middle School and borrow products like coffee, is that legal? Did all the vendors have the same process to become our school districts food service provider? Are there snow days built in the RFP or do we pay for snow days? Did 12 school districts not renew with Nutritian Inc. and why? What happened with the billing and gift cards at Brownsville? The real question is WHY, whats behind the URGENCY, is there more to the story?
Speaking of a nepotism policy what about homecoming candidates?
It is not possible the hours you travel to and from work as an administrator count as work hours?
Did we play a sixth grade girls in a middle school soccer match thus eliminating their senior year eligibility? If so did we report this violation or did we sweep another one under the rug? Be careful people take videos and pictures of matches, so make sure we do the right thing.Are we ever going to hire an assistant principal at the high school and what is the secret hiring process we now employ for administrators?

MY BLACKHAWK RESEARCH

Friday August 13, 2010



Expected budget shortfall in Blackhawk turns into surplus
By: Bob Bauder
Beaver County Times

CHIPPEWA TWP. — A suspected shortfall in Blackhawk Area School District’s 2010-11 budget wasn’t actually a shortfall, the superintendent said Friday.

Superintendent Michelle Miller said about $250,000 in federal stimulus revenue was entered on a wrong line item in the previous year’s budget. As a result, numbers did not match up when she and business Manager Vince Belczyk began working on this year’s budget.

Complicating matters was a break in budget continuity with the resignations of former business manager Eric Brandenburg and Superintendent Paul Kasunich, Miller said.

“That’s part of the issue,” she said. “The two people who were overseeing how that was coming in and how it was coded as we were creating this new budget, weren’t here.”

That made it harder to track.

School directors approved a 1.5 mill tax increase, instead of a 1 mill hike that had been proposed, to address what they believed would be a shortfall. Now Blackhawk is looking at a surplus. Miller said she isn’t yet sure of the exact amount.

“We’re going to have to make a decision now on how were going to use that money,” she said.

She said the school board is split over whether it should go toward ongoing capital improvements or an expected hike in employee pension contributions over the next few years. They will take up the issue at future board meetings.

Blackhawk board clears AD, will pay some legal costs
By: Bob Bauder Beaver County Times

CHIPPEWA TWP. — Blackhawk School Board has issued a public statement clearing longtime Athletic Director Jack Fullen of wrongdoing and agreeing to pay $1,000 toward legal costs he incurred last year as the result of a district investigation.

The school board agreed to remit the money so long as Fullen agrees in writing to release the district from all legal liabilities, Superintendent Paul Kasunich said.

The action taken during Thursday’s school board meeting was the result of an investigation of the athletic department, but it was never clear exactly what prompted the probe.

The previous school board initiated it, and most of the members have left office.

School directors approved the statement and payment by 5-2 vote with Joyce Perri and Geraldine Pander dissenting. Director Don Inman, who voted in favor, said Perri stated publicly that she opposed the measure because she had not seen the release from Fullen.

Neither Perri nor Pander could be reached Friday for comment.

Fullen, of Patterson Township, who has served at Blackhawk since 1974 as athletic director, assistant high school principal, superintendent of buildings and grounds, assistant superintendent and superintendent, would not comment when reached Friday.

His attorney James Ross of Ambridge said he had asked the board on behalf of Fullen for the statement to end any remaining controversy.

“He did nothing wrong, and that’s what this is confirming,” Ross said.

It was apparent last year that the old board was intent on firing Fullen for an undisclosed reason.

Kasunich reported in July that Pittsburgh attorney Daniel Delaney, who was retained by the district, had concluded the investigation, but neither he nor the board would reveal what was found.

Perri, then a school board candidate, told The Times that the district had issued Fullen a letter in June, informing him that his employment been terminated and ordering him to vacate his high school office. A second letter, she said, threatened to have him physically removed if he did not leave voluntarily. She would not reveal the source of the information.

Two previous board members — Jake Barsottini, now a supervisor in Patterson Heights, and Deborah Lambert — reported that at least part of the controversy involved the falsification of swimming records by swimming coach Jeff Jackman, who since has retired.

Inman said on Friday that he reviewed Delaney’s report and found nothing to indicate Fullen did anything wrong.

“It was ridiculous,” he said. “I’m not supposed to say what I read, but there was nothing there. Why it ever got to that level is beyond me.”

Inman said he voted in favor of the resolution because it was the right thing to do.

“I think it’s justified to reimburse the money,” he said. “It should have never happened, but it did, so we’re trying to clear up old wounds and make things right.”



February 12, 2010



Bob Bauder can be reached at bbauder@timesonline.com


Jun. 23--CHIPPEWA TWP. -- Incoming Blackhawk School Board members on Monday decried $20,000 performance bonuses that the current board awarded last week to two top administrators, saying the money was excessive and unjustified.
But a school director, who voted in favor of the bonuses, said they were more than warranted for employees who far exceeded expectations over the last year.

"I actually was able to measure their achievements, and their achievements were outstanding," said Jake Barsottini, who heads the board's finance committee. "They exceeded their goals on every position they had."

On Thursday, the board unanimously approved $20,000 bonuses for Superintendent Paul Kasunich and assistant Superintendent Michelle Miller. The bonuses came on top of a 3 percent salary increase the pair received at the beginning of the school year.

Kasunich earns $108,000 and Miller $97,850 annually. The average salary for a school superintendent in Beaver County this year is $108,315, according to the Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit.

The board last year approved $15,000 performance bonuses for Kasunich and Miller.

"I'm appalled," said Don Inman of Patterson Township, one of five new directors who will be seated on the school board in January. "Basically what they've done is they've given $70,000 to two administrators over the last 10 months, and the question is for what?"

For one thing, Barsottini said, Kasunich saved the district about $1.2 million without cutting services. He said Kasunich and Miller also upgraded educational programs, improved student performance and improved the district in other ways.

Inman and Cindy Burger of Chippewa Township, another of the new directors, questioned the process by which the bonuses were awarded. They also questioned the timing during a national recession.

"I think everyone is concerned about the economy, and I think the voters spoke loud and clear (in the primary) that they're concerned about the way the board spends the district's funds," Burger said. "I was not pleased when they spent the money that way."

Publication: Beaver County Times (Pennsylvania)
Date: Tuesday, June 23 2009

Print Page
Blackhawk building foes file complaint

Mar. 14--CHIPPEWA TWP. -- Residents opposed to a Blackhawk School District building project have filed a formal complaint with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, alleging the district has failed to meet state funding requirements.

The voluminous document -- more than 70 pages complete with diagrams, aerial photographs and statistical information -- outlines 13 objections residents have with the plans.

Blackhawk administrators have proposed closing Highland Middle School in favor of a $36.5 million addition at the high school that would include classrooms, administrative offices, a new gymnasium, and other upgrades to the building and grounds. The district has reported that it can receive state reimbursement for up to 20 percent of construction costs.

The project has triggered strong opposition from residents who favor a less expensive middle school renovation. Opponents aim to delay the project and eventually stop it by electing a new school board majority this year.

Last month, the board voted to send the plans to the education department for review as the first part of a lengthy, multistep process known as PlanCon in acquiring state funding.

Under the state school code, residents are permitted to lodge an official complaint in such cases if they believe a district has not met requirements.

The complaint was filed by Cynthia A. Burger of Chippewa Township and Frank Matsukas and Donald Inman, both of Patterson Township. It asks Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak to cease processing the district's request until the department can investigate.

Education department spokesman Michael Race said the department received the complaint and is reviewing it to determine whether further action is necessary.

Among other things, the complaint contends that the district has failed to comply with zoning, traffic and education department regulations necessary for reimbursement approval.

It also alleges the school board has failed to properly advertise its public meetings for 2009 in violation of the state's open-meetings law. In December, the school board voted to advertise its meetings in The Times. But no record of Blackhawk meeting notices turned up in a review of newspaper legal ads.

A media law expert with the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association said a court could void all action taken by a board during meetings that were not properly advertised.

Blackhawk Superintendent Paul T. Kasunich said Friday he believed all board meetings have been properly advertised. He refused to comment on other specific allegations, saying he had not had a chance to review them.

But he characterized the allegations as "untrue."

"These people can say whatever they want," he said. "It's certainly their right."

In the case of zoning, Chippewa Township Manager Mark Taylor said the school district has met most of the requirements.

Inman, who previously served for years on the school board and as a Patterson Township supervisor, said the purpose of the complaint is to force the board to follow proper procedure.

But the underlying motive, he said, is to delay the process until after the municipal election this year. Residents opposed to the building project are running a slate of five candidates -- including Inman and Burger -- in an attempt to gain a board majority and stop the project.

Bob Bauder can be reached at bbauder@timesonline.com





03/30/2009
Challengers vie for right
to quash building project
Bob Bauder, Calkins Media

BLACKHAWK SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES
Blackhawk School District voters elect school directors by three geographic regions. The district includes Darlington, Patterson Heights, West Mayfield, Enon Valley and the townships of Chippewa, Darlington, Patterson and South Beaver.
Five school board seats are up for election this year; four carry four-year terms and one a two-year term. All of the candidates have filed to appear on both Democratic and Republican ballots in the May 19 primary.
The candidates:
Region I (one seat open for a four-year term)
l Kathleen Meteney, 48, of 457 Hollow Road, Darlington Township.
l Geraldine Pander, 55, of 766 Blackhawk Road, South Beaver Township.
Region II (two seats open for four-year terms)
l Cynthia A. Burger, 54, of 108 Rama Road, Chippewa Township.
l Chad Calabria, 60, of 125 Redbud Drive, Chippewa Township.
l Jeffrey R. Emge, 49, of 140 Pinebrook Drive, Chippewa Township.
Region III (one seat open for a two-year term)
l Crystal A. Baldwin, 41, of 714 18th Ave., Patterson Township.
l David J. Gabauer, 40, of 112 Watson Trail Drive, Chippewa Township.
l Joyce S. Perri, 51, of 860 Achortown Road, Chippewa Township.
Region III (one seat open for a four-year term)
l Kevin Klein, 51, of 114 Gilliland Ave., Chippewa Township.
l Don Inman, 68, of 1016 Highland Ave., Patterson Township.


Bob Bauder
CALKINS MEDIA
CHIPPEWA TWP. - A slate of five candidates opposed to a proposed building project in the Blackhawk School District is running for school board this year in an attempt to win a board majority and quash the plan.

The current board plans to eliminate Highland Middle School and build a $36.5 million middle school addition at the high school on Blackhawk Road.

Opponents say the plan is unnecessary and too costly.
The opposition candidates say they are running for the express purpose of winning a board majority and stopping the project. They also say they fear project costs would prohibit spending for such things as teacher salaries, school supplies and expanded student programs.

Proponents, including the current school board and administration, argue that the project is necessary to upgrade deteriorating buildings and offer students state-of-the-art learning facilities.

They maintain that the district would have enough cash left over to pay for a new contract for teachers, supplies and expanded programs.

School administrators have said the project would require tax increases totaling 6 mills over the next four years, but opponents think it could be more. They favor renovating the existing middle school.

Five of the nine school board seats are up for election this year, and a total of 10 candidates are running for them.

The candidates include incumbents Jeffrey R. Emge, David J. Gabauer and Kevin Klein. Two other incumbents - Janice Wagoner of Darlington Township and board President Richard Caputo of Chippewa Township - are not running.

Emge, Gabauer and Klein could not be reached for comment.
The opposition slate includes Cynthia A. Burger, Chad Calabria, Don Inman, Geraldine Pander and Joyce S. Perri.
They say the project is unnecessary and too costly.

Two other candidates with no apparent association with either side also have surfaced: Crystal A. Baldwin and Kathleen Meteney.

Meteney was unavailable for an interview.

Baldwin said she has not yet made up her mind about the building project. She said she believes that the district should provide its students with the necessary education to compete in a global society.

"I think for me, there are still a lot of questions about the money and how we are going to pay for it," she said of the project. "There's been talk of tax increases or no tax increases from different sets of people. At this point, I don't have all the answers."

Bob Bauder can be reached online at bbauder@timesonline.com.

School officials say opposition complaint unfounded, project will overcome hurdles
Bob Bauder CALKINS MEDIA CHIPPEWA TWP. - A group opposing a building project in the Blackhawk School District was correct in one aspect of a complaint filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, contending the district failed to file a timely study required to receive project reimbursements.

However, school officials said last week that other parts of the complaint are unfounded.

Last week, the education department rejected the district's application for up to 21.6 percent reimbursement of the $36.5 million project, reporting that Blackhawk failed to meet a deadline for submitting a study of school facilities.

The Blackhawk administration and current school board want to eliminate Highland Middle School and build a middle school addition at the high school. Opponents hope to delay the project long enough to get a new school board majority elected in this year's municipal election and then stop the project.

The rejection will not stop it. Blackhawk architects have agreed to complete the study at no charge to the district by next month, school officials said. The district would then resubmit its reimbursement application.

But the complaint is still pending in Harrisburg.

Filed by Blackhawk residents Cynthia A. Burger of Chippewa Township and Don Inman and Frank Matsukas, both of Patterson Township, it contends among other things that the district has failed to comply with zoning, traffic and education department regulations necessary for the reimbursement application to proceed.

Last week, however, Superintendent Paul Kasunich and school board President Richard Caputo said allegations contained in the complaint were embellished.

They admitted that the district has hurdles to overcome to comply with Chippewa Township zoning regulations, including traffic and parking at the high school. The high school was built in 1972, they said, before zoning laws were amended to require a large number of parking spaces (opponents contend the number would be 1,800 spaces).

Kasunich and Caputo said the requirement was unreasonable, considering that the school was built before the zoning changed and that township officials were willing to work toward a compromise.

They said the same situation exists with traffic.

Opponents argue that traffic congestion occurs daily at the school entrance and that additional students at the high school would only compound the problem.

Kasunich and Caputo said the traffic wouldn't be any worse with the new addition.

Issues cited in the complaint, they said, are things that always crop up and must be worked through in a large building project.

"What we're saying is this is part of the process," Kasunich said. "Dialogue (with township officials) is ongoing and has been very positive."

The two officials said they anticipated the hurdles and they are confident that the district will be successful in overcoming them. They are convinced that the building project is in the best interest of the district and, over the long term, for taxpayers.

"We're doing our diligence," Caputo said. "If the (opposition gains a board majority) and the project doesn't go, it doesn't go, I guess. But we're doing what we believe is best for the students and the district facilities."

Bob Bauder can be reached online at bbauder@timesonline.com.

February 1, 2009 - Sunday
Just The Facts...
We credit Patterson Township resident and former School Board President Don Inman with first becoming aware of certain financially questionable practices.Don spent hours gathering not only pertinent but also quite revealing information for which all Blackhawk residents need to be aware. Here are some things you need to know:

♦ The Blackhawk School District has had a declining enrollment of 40-percent since the 1973-1974 school year.

♦ The District currently has a 73-percent occupancy rate.

♦ The first architect hired by the school board, Hayes-Large, was let go. It was Hayes-Large’s recommendation that the school district pursue renovation as an alternative to a new building or addition.

♦ The minutes of the school board’s July 17, 2008 meeting do not reflect the attendance (approximately 200 people, approximately 95-percent opposed) and the testimony given by approximately 40-individuals who opposed an addition to Blackhawk High School.

A majority of the 40 individuals who spoke also expressed how a significant tax increase would place them in dire financial straits.

♦ One of the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s criterion for school building projects is that “such a project should not cause undue financial hardship for residents of the school district.”

♦ The Blackhawk School District’s 2008-2009 budget was passed with a $906,491.00 deficit, which is equal to 3.91 mills.

♦ There were no open meetings to discuss the 2008-2009 budget.

♦ The current school board was asked to and was unable to provide any quantifiable/statistical evidence that the taxpayers of the Blackhawk School District could afford a cumulative $40,000,000 bond issue BEFORE the current local, county, state and national economic crises.

♦ The current school board gave Dr. Paul Kasunich, a first term superintendent, a 14.2 percent pay increase after he recommended a deficit-budget.

♦ The current school board gave Dr. Michelle Miller, a 14.2% pay increase before she even completing her first year in the position.

♦ Act 1 also is known as the Pennsylvania Taxpayer Relief Act, but Blackhawk taxpayers can expect little relief as your property taxes have gone up each of the last four years and by a total of 10 percent in just the past two years.

So how do the tax increases benefit our students? That's tough to figure out given that the proposed 2009-2010 budget actually cuts school supplies by nearly $300,000.

♦ When asked by a coalition member how the district could or would honor its commitments, none of the current school board provided an answer.

One available option is to apply for a “variance” with the PA Department of Education to further increase the millage, an action the Blackhawk School District NEVER has taken in more than 35 years of existence.

Oh, the aforementioned figures that created our “financial deBlackle” do not factor in the millage increase necessary for the $30,000,000 bond for, in our opinion, an unnecessary middle school added to the Blackhawk High School campus or the new proposal to build a stadium at Blackhawk High School, which may cost several more million dollars.

Please Help Us Save OUR Blackhawk School District From Potential Financial Crisis!



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