By Rick Dandes
SUNBURY -- Shikellamy Superintendent Alan Lonoconus will leave the troubled school district in less than a month.
By a 7-0 vote, the school board unanimously accepted his resignation, effective Nov. 13, at a special meeting Thursday night. School directors Michael Kerstetter and Terry Marshall did not attend.
Shikellamy’s school board hired Lonoconus in July 2006 after he served 26 years with the Southern Columbia School District in Columbia County. Three-and-a-half years later, he will leave to take a similar position in the Great Valley School District in Malvern, Chester County.
Shikellamy is one of 12 Pennsylvania school districts on warning status for lack of academic progress. Of the remaining school districts in the state, 14 fall below Shikellamy on the state measures of progress and 474 other school districts fared better.
Shikellamy High School has repeatedly failed to meet state standards and in the most recent testing year, the high school failed to hit state targets on five of 13 measures.
James P. Hartman, who retired in 2006 after serving 13 years as Shikellamy’s schools chief, will become acting superintendent Nov. 16. Hartman will serve until a permanent replacement is found.
Lonoconus after the meeting declined to answer questions about his resignation, but said: “It has been a pleasure working with the board and the administrative staff. They are all working hard to make sure our students get a good education, and I’d put them up against any other students in the state. I’ve enjoyed my time working here.”
Shikellamy’s 2009-10 budget set Lonoconus’ salary at $110,128, business manager David Sinopoli said earlier this week. The most recent Great Valley superintendent retired after 16 years with the district at a salary of $210,112.
At the regularly scheduled work session, school directors discussed the possibility of charging admission fees for non-major sporting events like softball, track and field and field hockey.
“We don’t want to have to cut programs,” said board member Preston Ross, “but we make no money running these sports and with the cost of field maintenance, uniforms and transportation, we’re losing money.”
Adding to the burden of local taxpayers was not an option, Ross said.
“Taxpayers who are footing the bill can only pay so much,” he said.
The board decided to look into how other districts charge for events that draw smaller crowds.
Board President Timothy Fister broke in and said: “I hate to put it this way, and I don’t want to see this happen, but eventually programs are going to be cut because we can’t afford some of these sports.”
n E-mail comments to rdandes@dailyitem.com
