The meeting included the approval of a new teachers’ contract, a variety of awards handed out and new hire approvals.
The Lenape Regional High School District Board of Education unanimously approved a four-year employment contract with the Lenape District Education Association at its meeting on Wednesday, June 21. The LDEA, which represents approximately 850 teachers and other staff including school counselors, child study team professionals, media specialists, nurses and athletic trainers, as well as administrative support staff, interpreters and paraprofessionals, ratified the contract on June 8.
The four-year agreement includes an average salary increase of 3.19 percent, a move to a less-costly health insurance plan and the implementation of a more evenly distributed method for the contribution of each employee’s share for health benefits. In addition, the board of education gained additional flexibility in the scheduling and hiring of special education paraprofessionals.
“Negotiations with the LDEA went very well,” said LRHSD Board Member Dr. Robert Bende, who chairs the negotiations committee. “Everybody was in agreement and very content with the final outcome.”
According to LDEA President John Faubl, the contract received overwhelming support from the association’s members. “Speaking on behalf of my colleagues, we feel fortunate that the negotiations between the LDEA and the LRHSD Board went smoothly. The final agreement benefits all levels of employees from teachers to nurses to administrative support staff and interpreters.”
Additionally at the meeting, the Board of Education unanimously approved the employment of the following new staff members for the 2017–18 school year: Kambrianna Corona, psychologist (Lenape); Matthew Catinella, guidance counselor/substance abuse coordinator (Shawnee); Bernard Gmitter, JROTC (Seneca); Nicole Escudero, health/physical education (Lenape); Danielle Hubbs, chemistry teacher (Lenape); Maria Lord, science teacher (Lenape); Kyle Nicastro, athletic trainer (Lenape); Sean Kley, health/physical education (Cherokee); and Laurie Flynn, part-time music teacher (Cherokee).
The board approved the following resignations and retirements: Patricia Ellis, secretary (Seneca); Alexander Epifano, security assistant (Cherokee); John Faubl, science teacher (Lenape); Colleen Reily, secretary (Cherokee); and Kelsey Maher, special education teacher (Shawnee).
Kathleen Witts was approved to be an interim math teacher at Seneca High School.
At the beginning of the meeting, Superintendent Carol Birnbohm congratulated Shawnee’s golf team for winning the State Division IV Championship and also congratulated Lenape High School’s special education teacher Christene Willitts for winning the district’s Teacher of the Year award. Additionally, Birnbohm handed out various awards to other members of the board.
The recipients included Barry Fitzgerald and Board President Linda Eckenhoff, who each won an award for 10 years of service on the board; Dr William Bisignano, Ted Shinske and John Jeffers, who each won an award for 20 years of service; Dr. Robert Bende, who won an award for 25 years of service; and Vice President Paula Lee, who won an award for her 35 years of service.
