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By JENNIFER LEARN; Times Leader Staff Writer
Sunday, September 20, 1998     Page: 1

From his office in the old Duplan Building basement, Mike Potence struggles
to figure out why he had to beg for a job interview with the Hazleton Area
School District.
   
He has studied and worked in the plumbing, heating, ventilation and air
conditioning field for more than two decades and is convinced he has the
background to teach the district’s plumbing/HVAC course.
    His resume even points out experience overseeing the plumbing installation
at the district’s Heights-Terrace Elementary School.
   
“I think I was sandbagged,” said Potence, a 51-year-old Butler Township
resident. “I’m not saying I’m the smartest guy or the best, but I certainly
should have been looked into.”
   
John Darrow, an independent home construction contractor, said he also got
a taste of questionable hiring practices in the district. He has installed a
variety of plumbing and HVAC equipment in dozens of homes and apartment
buildings the past 11 years.
   
“I never said I was the most qualified for the job. I just wanted a fair
playing field,” Darrow said. “The only reason I got an interview in the first
place is because somebody else told me the interviews were going to take
place.”
   
Both men said they applied for the teaching job because they met the
requirements advertised in the newspaper: at least two years of experience in
plumbing and HVAC and eligibility to get permanent state teaching
certification in both subjects.
   
Vocational hirings guidelines are more vague because applicants do not
immediately have to possess state teaching certificates. Applicants who prove
they have demonstrated experience in a field can get a temporary certificate
and then take teaching classes to get permanent certification.
   
In this case, none of the applicants had permanent certification.
   
But Potence and Darrow were never called for an interview or told they were
not qualified for the position, they say. When they contacted district
administrators, they were not given specific or accurate reasons why they
should not be considered for the job, they say.
   
Darrow said he had to demand he get interviewed. Potence complained to the
board that he was never interviewed, and the board forced administrators to
hold a second round of interviews of all three applicants for the job.
   
The board hired the only other applicant, Jeff Sweda, on Sept. 2.
   
Potence and Darrow are considering pursuing legal measures to force
district officials to explain conflicting scores on tests and other actions
they deem questionable before the board voted on filling the position.
   
For example, Darrow points out that board President Gloria Pesock publicly
named Sweda as the chosen applicant to be hired and said the district was
“lucky” to steal Sweda from his employer in Bethlehem. When Pesock made the
statements at a meeting in August, the rest of the board had not voted on the
hiring.
   
Potence and Darrow are also upset that the written portion of the test only
required labeling parts of a basic air conditioning unit. They say a
standardized test in all aspects of the course would be more thorough.
   
Also, Potence said he has proof that at least one of his answers on the
written test was incorrectly marked wrong. He is prepared to show that proof
to law enforcement officials that he hopes he can convince to study district
hiring practices.
   
“My big frustration is how they threw us away and discredited us from the
beginning without even looking at us,” Darrow said.
   
Administrators consider hiring clean process
   
District administrators who oversaw the interviewing process characterize
the complaints as “sour grapes” and said they are confident in their choice.
   
“People are trying to undo a process that was very clean,” said district
Superintendent Geraldine Shepperson. “I think Mr. Sweda is a young man who’s
beginning a promising professional life that has to be tainted by accusations
that have no basis.”
   
Career Center Principal Ed Lyba said he “saw no evidence” that Darrow and
Potence had as much HVAC experience as Sweda. Lyba said he concluded Sweda was
the most qualified as soon as he reviewed the resumes.
   
Shepperson said the district has no obligation to interview all applicants
for vocational teaching positions. Employers in private industry rarely
interview all applicants who submit resumes, she said.
   
Sweda worked four years as an apprentice plumber and then worked at
Bethlehem Steel Corp. as building maintenance director in charge of plumbing,
building and welding. While at Bethlehem, Sweda completed courses and got
special non-teaching certifications in HVAC. He also taught adult HVAC and
refrigeration courses in Allentown.
   
“What I saw in that resume was evidence that this individual had not only
work experience but credentials in plumbing and HVAC,” Lyba said. “He had
experience in both areas, and one’s not more important than the other. I felt
very good about the process.”
   
At least one board member said he voted against Sweda’s hiring because he
believes the board should have waited until one of the three applicants got
permanent certification. The district already has a certified plumbing teacher
who could teach the plumbing portion of the course, said board member Don
Tombasco.
   
All three applicants said they are eligible and interested in achieving
permanent certification. Sweda already had enrolled at Temple University in
Philadelphia to get his certification before he applied for the job.
   
“All the candidates had their strengths and weaknesses. That’s why I felt
we should hold off until someone got permanent certification,” Tombasco said.
   
Sweda said he has no ties, friendships or relationships with board members
or district employees. He said he was surprised when people spread false
rumors that his mother was friends with Shepperson.
   
“I feel good about the hiring process because I was hired on my merits- not
on who I know. That’s the way it should be because it’s been done the wrong
way for a long, long time,” Sweda said.
   
Sweda said he has been a sports coach for young children and high school
students.
   
“I love to work with kids, and I’ve always wanted to be an educator,” Sweda
said. “I left a very good job to come here because my main concern is the
children and giving something back to the school district that taught me so
much.”
   
Shepperson said not all tradespeople make good teachers. She said Sweda
showed “enthusiasm” and “ability to relate.”
   
“We can hire many tradespeople with excellent ability, but they can’t all
relate to young people,” Shepperson said.
   
But Potence thought he would.
   
He would love to show students huge pipes, boilers and hidden tunnels at
the old, 550,000-square-foot Duplan building, which he says he has “brought
back from the dead.”
   
He wants to tell them about process pipes that bring chocolate to candy
bars and wax to crayons at area plants. Or there’s his exercise in which
students spread w