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Susquehanna Community School District’s Directors held their March meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21. Fifty minutes later they had completed their up-close-and-personal look at the district’s issues: good, bad, and ugly. Board members present were School Board President Steven Stanford and board members Lori Canfield, Jason Chamberlain, Evelyn Cottrell, Carol Jackson, Holly Kubus, Martha Stanford, and Clay Weaver. Board member Amanda Cook was absent.

The evening’s “goods” were many. Perhaps chief among the good was the board’s approval of a revision to Superintendent Bronson Stone’s contract, effective from present through the contract’s end on July 31, 2014. In the board’s work session on the previous evening, an executive session had been held to discuss Senate Bill (SB) 1296, sponsored by Senator Lisa Baker. The bill, not yet state law, but likely to be enacted in short order, increases accountability of school district superintendents in the face of high-profile abuses and golden parachutes which have been costly to, and found outrageous by, many taxpayers. In the executive session of the previous evening, Superintendent Stone explained the bill’s provisions for imposing limits on superintendent pay and benefits. Although grand-fathered by the bill, Mr. Stone philosophically agreed with the bill’s intent and provisions and volunteered to have his contract revised immediately to conform to SB-1296. In so doing, he stated it was “a privilege - not a right - to work in this district,” and relinquished various re-employment rights when and if his relationship were ever terminated with the district. Superintendent Stone also requested, and the board approved, reduction in his severance package from one year’s pay to two months’ pay. In Mr. Stone’s view - made known to Senator Baker - the bill’s only downside is that “it will discourage youthful leadership,” since future superintendents will more than likely be at the end of their careers, in their 50’s as opposed to their 30’s, since severance packages are constricted and reemployment benefits curtailed.

At the March 21 meeting of the New Milford Township supervisors, a countywide burn ban for Susquehanna County was announced, beginning March 24 and continuing through Monday April 23.

The supervisors were going to put a concrete floor for the maintenance garage out to bid.

The township had the people selected for a board of appeals, Mr. Hunter said, but there were some other items involved with it which the township solicitor needed to take care of. The committee would deal with the building codes appeals. The topic was tabled until the following month.

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