No (W-B) School Board Member Left Behind

This was waiting on me when I got home...

The Northeast Pennsylvania Building & Construction Trades Council and the Scranton Building & Construction Trades Council will be holding a joint press conference with Corey O’Brien, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District, tomorrow March 3, 2010 at noon. The press conference will be held at the Operating Engineers Local 542 union hall, located at 501 East Main Street, Wilkes-Barre PA (across from the Mohegan Sun casino). The event is open to all press.

WHAT: Press Conference
WHEN: Tomorrow – Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at Noon
WHERE: Operating Engineers Local 542, 501 E Main Street, Wilkes-Barre
CONTACT: Justin Carroll, Campaign Manager, 570-343-1111

This one shouldn't have surprised me, but it sure as hell did.

The link: W-B schools replace Pizzella with Polakoski

The excerpt: WILKES-BARRE– The Wilkes-Barre Area School Board picked longtime Wilkes-Barre Township Councilman Gary Polakoski to fill the remainder of former board president Frank Pizzella’s term at a special meeting Monday.

Wilkes-Barre Area School Board member Joe Moran, left; Superintendent Jeff Namey and board President Teresa McGuire listen to the votes, which ended with Gary Polakoski joining the board.

Polakoski, a Republican, has been on the township council for 16 years but never attempted to gain a school board seat before. He works as a foreman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

In choosing Polakoski, the board rejected Harry Haas, a Republican who was one of five candidates who won enough votes in the 2009 primary to land on the November ballot. Three primary candidates -- Christine Katsock, Robert Corcoran and incumbent Lynn Evans -- had won both party nominations in the primary, virtually assuring victory. That left Haas, a teacher at Dallas Middle School, on the Republican ticket fighting for the fourth seat with Democrat Phillip Latinski. Haas fell short by 115 votes.

As far as I'm concerned, this board just told the taxpayers that they'll do as they see fit, when they see fit, the public be damned. And they seem to have this aversion to allowing young, vibrant and caring up-and-comers a place at the decision-making table.

And what has happened to the former leader of the Wyoming Valley activist pack, Christine Katsock. First, she voted to reinstall as president a then indicted board member, recently gone admitted criminal. When asked to explain that vote, she treated us to "no comment."

And now, when pressed on the obvious snubbing of Harry Haas, well that's a "personnel matter" according to her, meaning she does not have to explain herself to the hardscrabble, unknowing hoi polloi such as us. Yeah, the perpetual candidate, the champion's champion of demanding transparency from the elected and the appointed has gone all translucent on us.

What balls!

Remember both the perplexing Pizzella fiasco as well as the infuriating Haas snub when we vote these connivers, prevaricators, hangers-on and dinosaurs out of office. Remember this bunk, this utter foolishness on election day.

When next we vote, we commence with the "No (W-B) School Board Member Left Behind" program.

Sez me.

Bye

PS--What's the going rate on a teacher's position? Can we find these jobs listed on eBay?