By a 5-4 vote, the school board voted to approve moving Dominic Zarella into the staff liaison and safety coordinator position for the construction project underway, which became available due to an October resignation. The resolution had been tabled at two previous meetings and was approved at a special November 28 meeting, held to hear concerns about the track. Discussion about the position at the November 13th meeting by board member George Heidcamp triggered the first of several outbursts by board member Terry Parisian, leading board president Don Tucker to admonish Parisian. At this meeting, supporters of the resolution took a different tact. Heidcamp, an opponent of the resolution, was the only board member that spoke before the vote. Zarella presently serves as a special education instructor and as a dean. Heidcamp said he had "done a lot of research on this the last two months and I've spoken to several people. I've been told this is going to be an impact on these children because of the bond that's been formed between the individuals and the teacher." He continued "what I'm concerned about is if this individual is removed from this teaching position, what kind of impact is it going to be on these children and what is it going to cost the taxpayers." Heidcamp felt that if the special education position part of Zarella's current position was filled, there would be a increased financial impact. Heidcamp, who serves as the board's vice-president, thinks that the liaison position is one that can be filled by present administrators. "We pay over a million dollars for the administration. I personally believe this job should be done by the administration," Heidcamp said. He added "if the superintendent [Richard Rhau] doesn't want to do the job then we can delegate someone to do it." Just before the vote, Heidcamp ended his remarks saying: "I think the board that supports this is doing an injustice to the kids and an injustice to the taxpayers, but they certainly have their opinion and they have their right to vote [that way]." Voting for the resolution were: Don Tucker, Terry Parisian, Michael Brennan, Robert McCaig, and Mark Thompson. Voting against were: George Heidcamp, Richard Petramale, Sam Fisco, and Jim Steinhilber. |