Kamus re-elected Wyoming Valley West School Board president

Mark Guydish, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·3 min read

Dec. 15—KINGSTON — Charles Kamus has only been Wyoming Valley West School Board President since August, when the board elected him after Dave Usavage stepped down from the post citing health reasons. But Kamus did a good enough job to be the lone nominee for board president during a re-organization meeting Wednesday, and got the nod with a unanimous vote with one member absent. Paul Keating was re-elected vice-president.

The board moved immediately into a brief regular monthly meeting, hiring a firm to help seek insurance payments for recent water damage at Third Avenue Elementary, appointing a broker to help with the sale of the recently-closed Schuyler Elementary building, and approving the purchase of 272 interactive flat panel displays at a cost of $948,438.

Third Avenue had about 169,000 gallons of water in the basement the Friday after Thanksgiving caused by faulty construction on the water meter that prompted closing of the school for several days, Superintendent Dave Tosh said after the meeting. The board approved a Public Adjusters Contract with Commonwealth Adjusters to "advise and assist in the adjustment of the insurance claim arising from loss at 131 Third Avenue, Kingston." The fee is $150 per hour.

Having decided to close and sell Schuyler over summer to cut operating costs and close a budget hole, the board is moving to get several appraisals and have the building listed for sale. The board awarded a bid for real estate brokerage services to Mitchell Real Estate. Kamus said after the meeting that an asking price has not been determined.

The purchase of the interactive panels is from 4 The Office, and will be paid with federal COVID-19 pandemic relief money. The cost includes associated hardware, licensing and installation, with training provided at no cost.

During opening remarks, Tosh announced a deal in the works with King's College to create a "Kids at King's" getting WVW students onto the Wilkes-Barre campus to participate in various academic programs.

The board also:

—Approved a request from Ashley Temarantz and Suzanne Fellerman, class of 2024 advisors, for the senior class trip of 2024 to Williamsburg, Va. the last week of April at no cost to the district.

—Approved an agreement with Lackawanna College for the dual enrollment program from July 1 this year through June, 2023.

—Approved the purchase of Interactive Flat Panel Displays from 4 The Office at a total cost of $943,438. The cost will be covered with federal COVID-19 relief money. The purchase agreement is for 272 displays with associated hardware, licensing and installation. Training is included at no cost.

—Approved the purchase of myViewBoard Entity software subscription from Parmetech at a cost of $30,000, also funded through federal pandemic relief money. The software is a set of classroom apps for interactive boards.

—Agreed to have the district join the Lower South Valley Land Bank, formed by area governments to deal with blighted properties.

—Added Sharon Castle and Caitlyn Norton to the substitute teacher list.

—Accepted the retirements of personal care aide Sherry Novitski and general duty aide Deborah Austra.

—Accepted the resignations of cleaner Jennifer Lord, nurse assistant Marisa Romanowski, personal care aide Linda Accurso, cleaner Marlene Guminski, and mathematics teacher Tabitha Carty.

Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish