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Short on cash and new ideas, the Wilkes-Barre Area School District has turned to experts from outside the area for their advice – a promising, if somewhat peculiar, move.

The district’s top administrator divulged the new development during a board meeting earlier this month.

“We are not above seeking help from consultants well-versed in educational finance,” said Superintendent Bernard Prevuznak. “This board believes in transparency and honesty, which is why we are saying we contacted the (Pennsylvania) Department of Education for assistance.”

The state’s consultation services won’t cost the district, he said. In a nod seemingly aimed at concerned area residents, and perhaps district employees, the superintendent added “… we are willing to listen to any recommendations from others.”

Credit district officials for publicly acknowledging the money crisis and for calling for input. All too often in the past, this public school district, particularly its various boards of directors, seemingly preferred to be insular, even secretive. In certain cases, that was to shield improper behavior.

This month’s appeal for outside guidance appears to be sincere, but it leaves us with three questions.

First, before announcing its plan to solicit the Department of Education for strategies, did school officials notify and receive buy-in from the district’s professional staff, whose business acumen is paid for by taxpayers? If not, what message does that send to those employees who are paid to crunch numbers and provide solutions?

Second, are the school board’s members willing and ready to follow the state’s money-saving recommendations? In bygone years, prior school directors in Wilkes-Barre balked when the Department of Education, on multiple occasions, strongly urged the district to hire more minority teachers. More recently, the board started down a road with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association in the search for a new superintendent, then abruptly halted the process and stuck with an inside candidate, Prevuznak.

Lastly, why now? The district’s downward financial trajectory could be forecast for some time; and presumably the state has long offered free professional advice. What drove the decision this fall to finally ask for help?

We hope the decision was genuine and not a gambit to soothe public backlash over the district’s high school consolidation plan. Time – and the school board’s response to state-made recommendations – will tell.

Wilkes-Barre Area School District Superintendent Bernard Prevuznak recently said, ‘We are not above seeking help from consultants well-versed in educational finance.’
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Prevuznak.jpg.optimal.jpgWilkes-Barre Area School District Superintendent Bernard Prevuznak recently said, ‘We are not above seeking help from consultants well-versed in educational finance.’ Times Leader file photo | Aimee Dilger