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Athens Area School District approves budgets, reassigns staff as librarian roles eliminated
Summary
At its February meeting, the Athens Area School District board approved consent financial items and personnel actions, moved multiple policies to second reading, and accepted superintendent proposals that include eliminating dedicated elementary librarian positions and reassigning affected staff to certified roles.
The Athens Area School District Board of Education approved consent financial items and a slate of personnel actions at its February meeting, and moved a package of policies to second reading while the superintendent outlined proposed curriculum and scheduling changes.
Superintendent Dr. Stage told the board the meeting would include votes on the BLAST intermediate unit and Northern Tier Career Center (NTCC) budgets. He said the career center offers 13 programs and that Athens’ participation filled 124 of 132 available slots; district cost shares are calculated using two formulas, including a 25%/75% ratio that led the superintendent to note a slight decrease in the district’s payment next year because of enrollment shifts elsewhere.
On personnel, the board approved a set of resignations and hires and voted to eliminate dedicated librarian positions at SRU and Lynchbuston elementary schools. The superintendent and personnel materials stated the employees currently assigned to those librarian roles would be reassigned to other certified professional positions for which they are properly certified rather than being terminated. The change was presented as part of broader instructional restructuring to simplify K–2 design and reduce elementary technology use.
During the financial business discussion, board members asked whether BLAST is audited; district staff confirmed BLAST undergoes the same audits as the district and that Tracy (the business manager) receives the BLAST audits and will review them more closely if requested. One member raised concerns about executive salaries reported in the BLAST documents.
The board also addressed a facilities repair noted in committee reports: a broken motor on a Lynchbust basketball hoop estimated by the committee at about $7,700; the committee recommended the district pay the cost. Facilities staff earlier explained a recent SRU well pump failure stemmed from a missing torque arrestor on a 5-horsepower pump installed in 2022, which allowed movement in the 8-inch casing and caused wiring to short.
Votes were recorded by roll call on consent financial items, personnel actions, policy items (letters A–K, with A and B kept at first read), overnight field-trip requests, and transportation updates. One member initially registered a “No” on a consent vote and then corrected to “Yes” on the record; letter H was pulled for separate consideration and subsequently approved by roll call.
The solicitor also briefed the board on pending litigation over a Lowe’s Elm Street assessment and said a newly obtained commercial appraisal gives the solicitor confidence to challenge the applicant’s request; the transcript includes rough appraisal comparisons mentioned in the meeting.
The board did not adopt final curriculum redesigns at the meeting; the superintendent described these as active planning items and asked principals and building administrators to propose schedule and program revisions over coming months. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for March 10 at 7 p.m. at the administrative building.
