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Sunday, August 24, 1997     Page: 2

Editor’s note: The Hazleton Times Leader has set up the SAYSO phone line
(459-2159) to accept readers’ opinions on matters that interest them. There is
no charge other than the typical one from the phone company for making a phone
call. Callers are asked to speak for no more than 30 seconds and, please, do
not try to monopolize the phone line.
   
I’d like to know when school is going to start in the Hazleton Area School
District. There are so many conflicting stories. It’s the 25th; it’s the 16th.
When are they going to let the people in this town know what these teachers
are going to do- if they’re going to strike? They get paid 365 days a year,
they got second jobs, and they want a raise. And people working at factories
for $7-$8, making $20,000; the teachers are making $50-$60,000 and want a
raise yet. What is wrong with this community?
    Editor’s note: The average salary for a teacher in the Hazleton Area School
District in the 1995-96 school year was $50,937, according to the state. The
teachers have been without a contract since 1995.
   
Could you find out about the rumor that school is going to start as late as
the 18th or 24th? If that does happen, (District Superintendent) Geraldine
Shepperson, you don’t have an ounce of common sense.
   
Editor’s note: Shepperson has repeatedly and emphatically insisted school
will start Sept. 10, denying rumors that the date would be pushed back
further.
   
I’m calling in regard to the article in Sunday’s edition about wiretapping.
The question is, has The Times Leader inquired into the legality of this? Can
they provide any information as to where a citizen can inquire into the
legality? I was under the impression that wiretapping was illegal, and
especially since this article is so vague as to where and to whom and when it
will be done. I don’t think this is the proper position for the police, to
take this negative approach to this and not give any information out. If they
want to catch criminals and lawbreakers, I think the general public should
have some information as to what I would consider an illegal act by them to
hone in on private conversations.
   
Editor’s note: Luzerne County First Assistant District Attorney Dan Pillets
said state wiretap laws are very complex, but there are two basic types of
wiretapping: consensual, when one party being tapped knows the tap is in
place, and hard-wire, where neither party is aware the tap is in place. In all
cases, police must get authorization from a court, the state attorney general
or the county district attorney, depending on the circumstances.
   
Pillets said veteran Hazleton Police Detective Sergeant Ed Harry is well
versed in the laws governing taps.
   
I’m very upset. You mean to tell me that the mother who left her child at
Community Park, she didn’t realize as she was putting those children in the
van, or any of the brothers or sisters didn’t say, “Mommy, we’re missing our
brother?” Me, as a parent, if my son was sleeping, I would go into the room
and see if everything was OK. Something doesn’t seem right with these parents.
After they went to Wilkes-Barre, didn’t they do a head count to see if all the
kids were in the house?
   
Editor’s note: According to the affidavit filed by the state police in the
case, Patricia Duncan told police that on Aug. 7 she gathered her seven
children at Hazle Township Community Park and put them in the family van. One
child began acting up and distracted her, and as a result she did not notice
when she left her 3-year-old son behind. She said a string of events followed
and she did not realize the child was missing until nearly seven hours later,
believing the child was asleep at home.
   
Ron Capece is asking City Council to give him $195,000 to repair the roof
(of the former Duplan Silk Mill building). Mr. Capece, you claim that there’s
12 tenants there. Those 12 tenants pay you to rent. You make the profit or the
expenses. That’s up to you to take care of it … (Hazleton Community
Development Officer) Mr. (Ron) Slusser wants to give you the $195,000 at prime
(interest rate). But we’re asking council not get involved in it. We’re asking
council to take care of the taxpayers and don’t let this stuff go on like
this. I’d like to ask Ron Capece if he’d be willing to open the books up and
let council and the public know the profits he has made whenever he took the
building. With his business (Sargent) Art Crayons and the profit he gets from
tenant income.
   
Editor’s note: Slusser said Capece, the owner of the former Duplan
building, has asked about a city loan, but has yet to submit an application.
Slusser said the amount discussed was less than half the $195,000 mentioned.
On Aug. 14 without explanation, council rejected Slusser’s request to transfer
$195,000 in his department to the city’s business development loan program,
where some of the money, provided through a federal grant, could be funneled
to city businesses as loans.
   
Slusser said the Duplan is now nearly 100 percent full and some companies
in the building want to expand but cannot because of “water infiltration”
problems in some sections. The city loan, if it were approved, would help pay
for repairs.
   
Slusser said if a loan application is submitted his office will review the
financial status of the building operations before a decision on the loan is
made. The main criteria for a loan is creation of jobs for low and moderate
income people in Hazleton, though the company’s own financial status is
important.
   
We have many problems in the Hazleton Area School District that must be
solved. However, the quality of education is good. Consider the students who
achieve academically and go on to successful careers. An education is offered
to each child. The parents and the children must decide if that education is
to be taken advantage of. I really believe the majority of teachers are
excellent. The school board, that’s another story.
   
I’m a sub with excellent qualifications and credentials in the Hazleton
Area School District. But I, like others, am substituting in order to work
towards a full-time position. However, if Alexis Sharp is hired, why should I
waste my time? There are so many subs who have been dedicated. Why should they
be overlooked? Is that the thanks we get for all the time we’ve put in? That’s
why so many other subs left.
   
Editor’s note: Alexis Sharp is the granddaughter of a close friend of Board
Member Tom Cipriano. Sharp received her Pennsylvania teaching certification in
June, according to the state Department of Education.
   
This is in response to the teacher that called and said he doesn’t even
have time to go to the bathroom, and that factory workers were jealous and
should go back to school. My mother, who was widowed when I was very young,
worked very hard in a factory to make ends meet to raise me and then help put
me through school. I have invested five years in college and have a very good
job, which I like and have been working at for several years. But I do not
make anywhere near what the teachers in Hazleton do. I also do not get two and
a half months off in the summer, extended vacations during holidays, or the
luxury of staying home during inclement weather. I’m not jealous, I’m
disgusted. There are some teachers who deserve every penny they make. Some of
them taught me when I was a student. However, a lot of them are only there to
collect the salary.
   
This is “Sick to my Stomach,” calling in reference to a teacher that
commented on my first call. For your information, I do have a college degree,
and I am not a factory worker. I am a stay-at-home mom with three children, a
decision my husband and I made in the very best interests of our children. My
husband and I work very hard to provide for us, but our children will be
better off for it. One of my children has had two marvelous teachers in the
district. But how much more burden can you put on the taxpayers to pay these
phenomenal salaries? Furthermore, how would I be able to get a teaching job in
this district? I don’t know anyone.
   
This is “Sick to my Stomach” again. I just wanted to mention to the teacher
that he or she should not be too hard on the factory workers. Because they pay
their salaries as well.
   
This is a call in response to “I deserve every penny I make.” First of all,
I can’t get a teaching job in this district because I am not a relative, nor
do I know anyone on the School Board. Second, how dare you say the blue-collar
workers are not productive? They work just as hard and as long for a lot less
money. No time to go to the bathroom? Give me a break. Let me remind you, I
was a student in this district. I know how much time you have on your hands.
Last, it’s too bad we all don’t have a job that gives us every weekend, all
holidays and three months vacation with a large salary to boot.
   
I’m calling in regards to this article in the paper that one of the
teachers wrote about: If everyone wants to earn, they should go back to
school. I have gone back to school. You can have six years of education. It’s
not what you know in this town, it’s who you know.
   
I’m calling in reference to the caller in the Aug. 17 SAYSO who said
teachers in the Hazleton Area School District are some of the most wonderful,
kind, generous, underpaid teachers in the whole world. I have a few questions
and comments about that statement. First of all, there are a lot of people who
are wonderful, kind and generous and do not get paid what the HASD teachers
do. If you think so much of their kindness and generosity, why don’t you send
them a thank-you card, rather than suggesting that they get paid more from our
tax dollars than a lot of them are worth. As for our HASD teachers being the
most underpaid in the world, I’d like to know where you came to that
conclusion. Have you done research on teacher salaries worldwide?
   
If so, please share that information with us. If not, I suggest you take
your head out of the clouds. HASD teachers are some of the highest paid in the
state. You say that maybe people keep calling in and complaining because
they’re jealous. I have never called the SAYSO line, but if I did call to
complain about teacher salaries, it wouldn’t be because I’m jealous. It would
be because I’m a taxpayer who believes I’m being penalized for owning a home
because I have to pay school taxes and I don’t have children going to school.
   
…I have one more comment for the caller. You said in your call that maybe
“they should have went to school to become teachers.” If you think most
teachers are worth what they’re getting paid, maybe you should seek one out
that can teach you proper English. There’s no such thing as “have went.”
   
I’d like to call and tell you I think your newspaper is a total joke, and I
want to know when you’re going to change the name to the Evelyn Star, because
I heard Evelyn Graham bought your paper?
   
Editor’s note: Nope, no Graham purchase. Knight-Ridder bought The Times
Leader along with several other newspapers around the country this year.
   
This is the first time I’ve ever called your SAYSO line. But I’m a friend
of Betty Kudasik, and when I read in your SAYSO line today that Betty’s a
nobody, I disagree. Betty’s a wonderful person, got involved in charities, and
never took a dime off nobody. I was really proud of Betty that she signed her
name, because not a lot of people will call this anti-Marsicano line and sign
their name in praise of him. I’m glad I know Betty, and I know her a long
time. And I’m sure if you people at The Times Leader ever spoke to Betty, you
would find her as a very intelligent, nice person. To me, she’s not a nobody.
I don’t see why they’re attacking Betty. She has her opinion, she signed her
name. She’s a lady with guts and a good friend.
   
Editor’s Note: We have talked to Betty. She’s always been nice to us, too.
   
I just read in the paper how they hammered my friend Betty (Kudasik). I
have to say, Betty signed her name and she made a statement. But The Times
Leader must have taken her statement seriously because on the front page,
(District Justice) Joe Zola has approximately 12 violations against this kid.
Prior record. Apparently, Betty Kudasik did make sense.
   
Editor’s note: Zola said there were 12 prior violations by Gyles Simmons,
the juvenile Marsicano apprehended for allegedly riding an off-road motorcycle
on the street.
   
You Quigley whiners make me so mad. Betty Kudasik’s a nobody? Well, I’m a
nobody too. And I’m a nobody that votes.
   
I must say, Bravo, on behalf of the NAACP getting involved in the case with
Gyles Simmons and Mayor Marsicano.
   
Editor’s note: The president of the local chapter of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People confirmed the organization
is looking into the arrest of Simmons. In published reports Marsicano said he
used his private vehicle to chase Simmons and, after catching up to him, the
mayor said he told Simmons “I’m the mayor and you’re under arrest.”
   
I’m responding to the caller who couldn’t understand why there wasn’t a
public outcry by the arrest made by Mayor Marsicano. According to information
available, Simmons was under house arrest, and over the course of the last
five years has 12 citations, including disorderly conduct, underage drinking
and harassment. But I’m sure there’s more that was not reported … . Now
Simmons is 16. His problems with law started when he was 11 or 12. So let’s
stop trying to crucify Marsicano on this and quit this racial nonsense. It
does not matter what color, gender or ethnic group a person belongs to. A punk
is a punk.
   
Editor’s note: Simmons and at least one family member who said she
witnessed the incident contend Marsicano made racial comments during the
incident. Marsicano has refused to return calls.
   
I’m a black woman living in Hazleton, and I have been reading your articles
in The Times Leader. I also know the Simmons boy. Number One, you don’t get in
trouble unless you’ve got problems and you have a record. This boy is not
increasing the black opportunity. He is making us look like a bad element in
the city. The NAACP? Before they come marching in here, and marching out, I
suggest they do themselves a favor and check into his record.
   
Editor’s note: The race of this caller could not be confirmed.
   
I’d like Mr. Ripa’s opinion on voting. He voted for 12 new (police)
officers in the city of Hazleton. Then why are we having the mayor stop people
and arrest them? I think Mr. Ripa made a bad choice in his answer that the
mayor should be protected from a lawsuit. I think it should be the mayor’s
private expense. After all, we all pay for our lawsuits. We don’t charge our
lawsuits to the city.
   
Editor’s note: Ripa points out he never said the city should pay to defend
Marsicano against any potential lawsuit, but Ripa does believe the city’s
Errors and Omissions insurance should cover the cost of any lawsuit defense.
That’s the point of carrying such insurance for city officials, Ripa said.
   
“I didn’t condone the mayor’s actions, but I don’t think he should be left
hung out to dry. No one should,” Ripa said. “Of all the things public
officials have to worry about, being sued should not be one of them,” Ripa
said.
   
People on fixed incomes and workers making the average wage in this area
are having a hard time making ends meet. It’s their right to comment about
inflated teachers salaries and the school board’s many shortcomings. Going
back to college to become a school teacher? What for? If you’re not
politically connected, you’d never get hired anyway. Jealous crybabies? I
don’t think so.
   
I’m calling in reference to your article in the paper about the Hazleton
police salaries. I can’t believe the low pay they’re getting compared to
school teachers in the area.
   
I’m calling in reference to a comment in the SAYSO line this week about
people getting off the teachers’ backs because of the money they make and
because they went to college. I’d like to comment that my husband went to
college for many years. He’s an engineer at a local plant and he only makes
$45,000 a year. He doesn’t make as much as a lot of these teachers do.
   
I’m calling in reference to a teacher that called in to justify their
salary. First of all, the teacher claims to have worked in the factory and
claimed to have worked three shifts of work in one shift. I call that a crock
of bull. I work in a local garment factory and we work for piece rate, which
means you kill yourself for eight or nine dollars an hour. We work in the heat
in the summertime, which can reach 100 degrees in the plant. Also, as for
being jealous of the teachers’ salaries, I’m not jealous one bit. If they
deserve the salaries, that’s fine with me. But just remember, I was once a
student of Hazleton Area and I know firsthand of their teaching skills.
   
This is in response to the teacher who works hard for his money. The
majority of people agree that teachers should make a good salary, but one that
the area’s economy can afford. But it seems our lackluster School Board likes
to give money away. Just because you did six years of college doesn’t
guarantee you a high salary, so if you have loans to pay, it’s your problem.
And, you put down factory workers. Unfortunately, everybody can’t afford
college. And the country needs factory workers. Who do you think keeps the
country running? And no, I am not a factory worker. I work in retail sales,
and I have to laugh every time you so-called educated teachers come to me for
advice on how to do this, and how to do that on your projects because you
don’t know how to do it. I guess that makes me some kind of teacher, and I
should make 50 or 60 thousand a year.
   
I’m calling in regards to the salaries of the people who work in Hazleton,
and as to who works in Hazleton. The people that work in Hazleton don’t even
make as much as a teacher if you take notice. And they’re on call 24 hours a
day. Seven days a week. I think you should be more worried about the lady who
left her kid at Lake Irena for eight hours where he could have drowned or been
abducted. Where’s her name in the paper?
   
Editor’s note: Her name has been published.
   
About your list of city employees. What about the Housing Authority
employee salaries?
   
Editor’s note: Good idea, we’ll look into it.
   
My response to, “Who is Jen Learn?” in last week’s paper is, even though I
have not personally met Jen Learn aside from talking to her on the phone, Jen
Learn is a reporter who is strictly business in her reporting. Jen Learn is a
person who is abreast of what is taking place in our area. Jen Learn reports
facts that are overlooked by other news media. Jen Learn is what this area has
needed for a long time. Jen Learn will not be intimidated by those who are
affected by her reporting. We need Jen Learn.
   
Someone asked the question in the SAYSO, “Who does Jen Learn think she is?”
I don’t know who Jen Learn thinks she is, but I hope she knows that she’s
doing a great job in The Times Leader. She’s a reporter who tells both sides
of a story.
   
To the caller who keeps downplaying the Hazleton Area basketball team
because they have 1,000 kids to chose from, please listen to this: Out of
those 1,000 people, how many people go out for the team? How many people go
out for the football team and aren’t allowed to play basketball? And how many
people actually make the basketball team? We’re talking maybe 100 to 200 kids
here, because the other kids don’t want to be on the team. They don’t even go
to see the basketball games. So, please, if our 200 kids are better than
yours, just leave them alone. If you want to beat Hazleton Area, don’t worry
about how many kids we have. Just get your kids to play better.
   
Just after reading the paper about politics and Shepperson’s contract, I
would suggest that everyone remember who you’re voting for. We don’t need
another Shepperson in for another four years.
   
This is about the Hazleton Area School District. I would appreciate if it
would be published exactly where these principals and vice principals are at
and what schools.
   
Editor’s Note: The list of assignments was scheduled to appear in this
issue.
   
I was wondering how much our millage is going to increase with (Hazleton
Area School District Security Director) Vinny’s (Zola) new salary for
directing the 10, new, mod-squad guards. Do we really need a three-quarter-of-
a-million-dollar security department in our school system?
   
Editor’s note: Zola said current plans call for no more than seven new
security guards, both part-and full-time. Full-time would work 40 hours a week
at $7 an hour and be eligible for Blue Cross/Blue Shield HMO single-person
insurance, which Zola estimated at about $2,200 per person per year. Part-time
workers would be paid $6 with no benefits. All would work during the school
year only and have summers off without compensation.
   
Two current full-time security guards would receive additional supervisory
duties and a salary increase from $7.50 to $10 an hour, Zola said. The
district no longer plans to contract private security guards except during
school-related events, like football games, held after school hours.
   
Neither Zola nor district Business Manager/Board Secretary Donald Boyer
could give exact figures on the cost difference in switching to in-house
security, but Zola insisted it was all being done within the current school
district budget, roughly $64 million.
   
I’m calling to suggest that The Times Leader run a little story about these
neighboring towns and their rural mail delivery numbers. It seems the other
paper, they just put the RD number, and we don’t know if they live in Stockton
or Hollywood or Milnesville or where. I would like to see what Times Leader
thinks of this. They just give you Broad Street as a person’s address. Broad
Street goes from one end of town to the other. Maybe it’s too much trouble for
those reporters down there at the Standard-Speaker to hit those extra keys.
   
Editor’s note: While we don’t often print a specific address, it is The
Times Leader’s policy to narrow a location several ways, depending on how much
information we have: mention nearby landmarks, mention cross streets or the
block of a specific street (for example, the 600 block of E. Broad St.), or,
in the case of townships, mention the specific section (for example,
Milnesville section of Hazle Township).
   
I’d like to comment on the individual’s comment on the football team being
listed in the local newspaper as Hazleton instead of Hazleton Area. Maybe it’s
because those reporters don’t know the city limits. If you read their news
items, they list Lattimer as Hazleton, they list Chapel Hill as Hazleton, they
list Ridgewood as Hazleton. I think those reporters should be writing books
instead of news items.
   
I would just like to say that I’m become very ashamed and angry at the
Hazleton Area School District and the Hazleton city. Instead of benefiting the
children and trying to make Hazleton a better place to live in, they’re too
busy fighting with each other and trying to best one another. It seems as if a
lot more people are moving out of Hazleton. I’m seeing a lot of “For Sale”
signs around. I’m beginning to wonder why the people are moving out of
Hazleton. I think this town has a lot of potential, but I wish we could find a
candidate who will do what they promise and doesn’t back-stab us as soon as we
elect them.
   
I think it’s time to commend the Hazleton City Council on their proposal to
have mandatory spaying. Very commendable, but what I don’t understand is if
someone is offering hundreds of dollars for a dog, they might want to recruit
some of that through breeding.
   
My biggest complaint is, why worry about cats and dogs in Hazleton? Why
don’t they worry about undisciplined children? There are children 8 to 18
years old drinking, smoking, running wild in the streets. As far as the cats
and dogs, and trying to make us pay a fee, that’s ridiculous. Why don’t they
try making a fee to the parents to keep the kids in the houses or fine them?
   
Tom Marnell, you know the old saying. “The guilty dog barks first.” Well,
keep on barking. The outcomes are now formed, and you proved that last month
when your son was hired.
   
Editor’s note: At Monday’s School Board work session, Marnell angrily
stormed from the meeting after board candidate Gloria Pesock joked about board
members receiving graft. Marnell said he did not think it was funny and asked
for an apology. After Marnell left, Pesock said she did not intend to offend
anyone. Marnell’s son Matthew was recently hired by the school district.
   
Any shred of credibility regarding the editorial letters written by Miss
(Demetria) Deakos was lost when she received her political payback from
Marsicano. With this hiring, Deakos has indicated that she is nothing but a
puppet of Marsicano’s. Support the current incumbents who are fighting
Marsicano’s outrageous and lawless administration.
   
Editor’s note: Deakos has been doing limited computer work for the city tax
collection department while the city awaits new computers. Deakos flatly
denied the work is a “payback” and said her scrutiny and criticism of city
government is not influenced by the work, which is temporary. Deakos also
said, as she often has, that she criticizes both the Marsicano administration
and City Council if she finds something wrong, and that she has praised city
officials when they do their jobs.
   
Boy, Sam Lesante’s show this week is so full of marshmallows. It’s so
sweet, you go on a diet watching it. I mean, the acting is fantastic.
   
Editor’s note: On Aug. 14 Marsicano, his wife, Lanora, and her daughter,
Emily, all appeared on the Sam Lesante Show on local cable channel 13. From
the start, Lesante, who has always said he strives to make his show
informational rather than controversial, promised the show would be different
than most. Except for the first 15 minutes, the discussion veered away from
politics and focused on the Marsicanos’ family life. Marsicano promised to
return to Lesante’s show “within 30 days” for a more issue-oriented program.
   
Mayor Mike and his wife are on the Sam Lesante Show bragging about all the
trips they took. I’d like to know, while they’re all over the place, who’s
minding the store downtown, and why do we pay this guy $50,000?
   
Editor’s note: The mayor’s salary this year is $52,500. Marsicano also
works part-time as a pilot with Continental Airlines, but he has never
revealed his earnings with the airline.
   
Lanora likes to go here, Lanora likes to go there. This is a statement she
made on the Sam Lesante Show. I have some advice for Lanora. How about keeping
your husband, the mayor of Hazleton, inside the city? I’m paying him to be a
full-time mayor. Not to go on vacation all over the place.
   
To heck with being a school teacher. I want to be the mayor. You get to
spend your life on vacation. To hear them talk on the Sam Lesante Show, you’d
never think they were in Hazleton.
   
This is a question to Jake Ripa and the rest of Hazleton City Council.
Approximately how much vacation time is our mayor entitled to, and could you
possibly make an ordinance that he only gets one or two weeks a year, since
obviously, according to the Sam Lesante Show, he’s constantly on vacation. I
don’t like paying a man a mayor’s salary for him to go on vacation. Please ask
the city council how they can correct this with an ordinance.
   
Editor’s note: Council looked into the issue when Marsicano first took
office and could find no legal way to enforce specific hours or limits on
vacation for the mayor. On the Sam Lesante Show, Marsicano also claimed he
goes to work at City Hall as early as 6 a.m. every day.
   
It’s time we get rid of tenure for teachers who are not qualified. The
school board should consider the teacher’s qualifications. Tenure should be
outlawed. Also, no more of this here nepotism. Nepotism is supposed to be a
crime, and it’s time we started prosecuting.
   
As a lifetime citizen of the area, my entire family, my husband’s family,
and now our children are attending this district. Between the two families,
our property taxes pay the district employees’ high salaries. As a substitute
teacher, I feel my family has paid for a job for me. Maybe one of the district
employees would like to pay our taxes. If the district does not feel I’m
qualified, what happened to the excellence in this district? Both of my
families have very successful businesses, considering my mother-in-law is the
only one with a college degree and continuing education courses. What does
that say for people who work hard and manage a business on a high school
diploma or less? If successful people operated their business the way you
manage the district, they would go bankrupt. The district better start hiring
applicants that understand hard work.
   
Wake up, people in Hazleton. Marsicano wants to tear down (the former)
Grebey and Harman (school buildings). How many more buildings is he going to
tear down? (state Rep.) Mr. (Todd) Eachus has the right idea. Make a center
for the youth today. What have the children in Hazleton to do? When I was
growing up, we had the YMCA to go to dances, roller skating. Now they have
nothing. No wonder so many kids are getting killed in cars, because that’s all
they have to do is ride around or go on the street.
   
Editor’s note: Marsicano has recently hinted at city plans to develop a
youth recreation center in the city.
   
Poor (School Board Member) Mike DeCosmo. He’s so sad because so many people
are calling him for a job. Now he wants a hiring policy to hide behind. You
know the district already has a hiring policy: friends and family first,
everybody else, forget it. I mean, all of us out here in TP Land (that’s
taxpayer land) would be really happy if the district would implement a decent
hiring policy. However, they’d also have to follow it. That’s the problem with
our district. They create a lot of good policies, but they don’t follow any of
them. A discipline policy, for example… . Isn’t there that thing about the
barn door? A little late for this policy now, isn’t it?
   
Editor’s note: At Monday’s school board work session, DeCosmo suggested the
board set some minimum requirements, like a set number of years experience,
for any teacher hired in the district. DeCosmo said requiring some concrete,
measurable qualifications could help blunt frequent criticism of the board
hiring policies. For a year and a half critics have complained as board
members hired friends and relatives.