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YATESVILLE — The Pittston Area Primary Center will soon have a new name.
Pittston Area School Board voted to name the center, located on Rock Street in Hughestown, the Martin F. Quinn Primary Center on Tuesday. The vote ended 5-1, with board member Joe Kelly opposed and Quinn abstaining.
In the waning moments of the meeting, board member Anthony Guariglia addressed the board and made a motion to change the name, letter head and all correspondence of the Primary Center after his fellow board member.
It was Guariglia’s final motion as a member of the Pittston Area School Board, as the district will go through it’s re-organization next month.
“Marty served our district, students and education for the past 25 years,” Guariglia said. “It was an honor and a privilege to work with him.”
Quinn, 79, of Pittston was appointed to the board in March of 1990. That year, the board needed to fill a vacant position and the vote came down to 4-4. A Luzerne County judge was tasked to appoint a member to the board because of the tie. Quinn was the choice.
For all but two of the past 25 years, Quinn has served on the board.
“I’m thrilled,” he said. “I’ve been here a long time and you never expect anything. You always have to give something back. That’s the way I feel.”
The Pittston Area Primary Center houses all Pittston Area School District students in first and second grades. Guariglia said Quinn was a major factor in getting the school built, and up and running.
“It’s because of his selflessness and his dedication that the Primary Center remains the golden standard for excellence,” Guariglia said. “Our Primary Center is second to none. He made that happen.”
Since the motion was passed just on Tuesday, there is no timetable for the name change of the school.
“We have a great board here,” Quinn said. “I’m pretty excited about this.”
In other business:
• Guariglia, John Donahue, Charles Sciandra and Richard Gorzkowski were presented with plaques for their service on the Pittston Area School Board. Guariglia was also presented with an honor roll certificate from the Pennsylvania School Board Association for his eight years of service. The association awards certificates to board members who are appointed for at least eight years.
• The board hired Joanne Rossi and Joanne Perrins as full-time cafeteria workers.
• The board appointed the following persons to extra-curricular activities for the 2015-16 school year: Mark Serino, PSSA Middle School Science Coordinator; William Ardoline, seventh grade boys basketball coach; Bob Woodall, junior high wrestling coach; Ed Straub, junior high wrestling coach; Dave Krantz, volunteer wrestling; Kirk Bonnany, volunteer wrestling; Brian McCoy, volunteer wrestling.
• Jessica Baker was approved to be an intern for fall 2015 with Tina Kayden in the Guidance Department at the high school.
• Pittston Area has scheduled a re-organization meeting for 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 4. The regular school board meeting for December is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Dec. 15. All meetings are held in the Pittston Area library.