Hazleton Area approves salary increases

Feb. 03--Hazleton Area school board approved salary increases for a group of non-union district employees who have been working under a pay freeze since the 2010-11 school year.

The group, called "non-classified employees" due to their non-union and non-administrative job categories, includes central office directors, managers, supervisors and coordinators; confidential secretaries; the print shop technician and security department personnel.

The wage increases, which were approved at the board's Jan. 23 meeting, were not printed on the meeting agenda.

Rather, near the conclusion of agenda business, after all the items on the printed agenda were addressed and the floor was opened to public comment, at the point when the board normally adjourns a public meeting, the directors recessed into a closed-door executive session.

The executive session began at 7:55 p.m. and lasted 23 minutes. The directors returned to the meeting room at 8:18 p.m. Most of the citizens in the audience had left by the time the board returned and approved a verbal motion to approve the salary increases.

The Standard-Speaker filed two Right-to-Know requests with district administration to obtain the newly approved salary schedule and the salary schedule that was in effect prior to the action.

According to the documents, there were 21 employees on the non-classified schedule in 2010-11. There are 30 employees on the schedule approved by the board on Jan. 23.

Most of the additional names on the schedule are school resource officers. In the 2010-11 school year, the district employed a security supervisor and two SROs. The district now employs 12 SROs and a department supervisor.

Some of the employees on the old salary chart no longer work for the district. Some retired; some were furloughed; some moved into other positions. Some held positions that were merged with other positions to create a single new position. Some salaries increased; some decreased.

The old wage scale was approved by the board on Dec. 21, 2010. However, six months later on June 28, 2011, the board enacted a wage freeze for all non-classified employees, which froze wages at the 2010-2011 scale through, and including, 2011-12 and 2012-13.

The wage thaw and salary increases approved Jan. 23 are retroactive to July 1, 2013.

The salaries of employees who were on the 2010-11 schedule and their new wage rates include:

- Andre Marchese, facilities director, from $66,518 to $68,887.

- Kathy Manyko, supervisor of internal auditing and reporting, from $46,570 to $50,000.

- George Joseph, supervisor of systems support, from $74,797 to $75,500.

- Deborah Brill, payroll supervisor, from $85,386 to $76,386.

- Jessica Barrett, personnel/benefits supervisor, from $53,820 to $57,320.

- Jamie Schnee, confidential secretary to the business manager and assistant secretary to the board, from $59,336 to $64,562.

- Edward Shemansky, assistant facilities director, from $51,340 to $56,887.

- James Henry, security supervisor, from $28,982 to $48,750.

- Jennifer Plevel, transportation routing coordinator, from $36,790 to $46,790

- Jennifer Curcio, career and technical curriculum specialist (formerly called technical writer), from $44,823 to $49,773.

- Mary Jo Cussatt, confidential secretary to the superintendent, from $33,584 when she was confidential secretary to the assistant superintendent, to $47,085 as confidential secretary to the superintendent.

- Carl Yorina, director of operations, from $74,250 to $83,250. (Yorina's salary was $92,250 on the 2010-11 salary schedule. But in June 2012, the board reduced his wages to $74,250 on a budget crunch agenda item classified as "demotion/reduction in salary.")

Wages for employees on the new schedule who hold positions that were staffed by someone else on the previous schedule include:

- Anita Machey, confidential secretary to the assistant superintendent, $47,085. This position paid $33,584 when it was held by Cussatt in 2010-11.

- Anthony Lamanna, accounting /finance manager, $81,386. This position paid $61,355 when it was held by Danene Dura in 2010-11.

- Bernadette Sedor, federal programs coordinator, $36,565. This position paid $32,292 when it was held by Lynn Calvello in 2010-11.

- Sharon Cicioni, transportation routing coordinator, $35,535. This position paid $37,256 when it was held by Dick Ague in 2010-11.

- Jessica Carannante, child accounting coordinator, $42,000. This position was vacant with no salary in 2010-11.

The positions of transportation coordinator, previously held Fred Mariano at the 2010-11 salary of $70,360, and systems manager, previously held ay Anthony Arnold at a salary of $51,276, have been eliminated from the new non-classified matrix.

In the security department, SROs Richard Verbonitz and Michael Strenchock will be paid $24,962 under the new salary schedule. The 10 remaining SROs will be paid $24,235. They include Robert Senape, Peter Quinn, Gary Ziegler, Joseph Jones Jr., Jeffrey Taylor, Christopher Minchoff, Nicholas Stetchak, Brian Dalesandro, Rachel A. Lenar and Stephen Demko.

Under the 2010-11 matrix, non-classified employees paid a $40-per-month share for health insurance. Under the new schedule, they pay $50 per month.

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