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The South Williamsport Area School Board filled a vacancy for region one that was left vacant with the resignation of former member Jason Young.
Following a brief interview and vote, the board approved Dominic D'Ottavio to the seat, which will be up for election in 2027.
During his interview, D'Ottavio expressed interest in seeking election in his own right.
In other matters, the board approved the district Disciplinary Support Structure for Elementary and Secondary Education Students; the 2026-27 Central Elementary Title I School Plan; the 2026-27 Central Elementary Title I School Plan; the Dual Enrollment Memorandum of Understanding with Lycoming College for the 2026-27 school year, allowing eligible and appropriately qualified high school students the ability to enroll in college classes concurrently with high school classes; a letter of agreement with River Valley Health for the 2026-27 school year, allowing the dental van to visit and provide free dental care to students in need support; the Act 48 Agreement with River Rock Academy LLC for the use of alternative education for disruptive youth for the 2026-27 school year; the Letter of Agreement for the Student Assistance Program (SAP) with the Lycoming-Clinton Joinder Board (LCJB). The LCJB will appoint a SAP mental health liaison to provide site-based student screenings/assessments for possible treatment, referrals, postvention and technical assistance and attend and participate in SAP team meetings throughout the year, at no cost to the district; and ELA Sports to proceed with zoning approvals, at an estimated cost of $17,000, topography/partial boundary survey, at an estimated cost of $13,000 and soils infiltration testing for NPDES permit, at an estimated cost of $8,600.
In financial matters, the board approved a contract with River Rock Academy to reserve five elementary and/or secondary student slots for the Williamsport Campus, at a reduced per diem rate of $162 for a total cost of $149,850.00. Any additional students will incur a per diem cost of $162 to $258; a letter of agreement with the Lycoming-Clinton Joinder Board for a full-time caseworker, at a cost of $17,325.00 for the 2026-27 school year.
In staffing, the board approved Jeff Price as a school police officer, at an hourly rate of $35, effective July 1, 2026; Sofia Casella and Karly Erb as paraprofessionals at Central Elementary School, at an hourly rate of 17.74, effective at the beginning of the 2026-27 school year; James Moser as a van driver/stock room attendant, at an hourly rate of $17, effective at the start of the 2026-27 school year; Sue Edler as a 3-hour lunch monitor at Central Elementary for the 2026-27 school year, at an hourly rate of $17; Louise Campana, Mary Geise, Elisha Hertwig, Yvonne Lentz, Matthew Masters, Phyllis McKernan, and Marjorie Wonderlich as certified substitutes; Mae Allvord (Secretary), Chris Gottschall (Custodial), Heather Miller (Nurse), James Moser (Cafeteria), Ken Mundorff (Custodial), Cynthia Nestor (Cafeteria), Crystal Smith (Nurse), and Leah Steppe (Custodial) as classified substitutes; Suzanne Bastian, Robin Bernstein, Tony Birch, Robin Borick, Lisa Bower, Emily Kline, Christopher Kuriga, Pat McCormick, Melissa Mitteer-Bradley and Jessica Smith as guest teachers; a number of theater and athletic staff at stipends ranging from $500 to $2,674; game workers and managers at $30 and $40 per game, respectively; several program mentors with stipends of $500; and acknowledged the resignation of Joseph Baier as event security, effective July 27, 2026; Robert Davis as a substitute custodian, effective July 16, 2026; Alicia Porter as a life skills paraprofessional at Central Elementary, effective July 31, 2026; and John Stiner as a full-time custodian, effective July 27, 2026.
The next board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14.