Panther Valley School Board hired eight teachers for the start of the 2023-24 school year in a bevy of personnel moves and requests Wednesday night.

Four of the teachers will be at the junior/senior high school, one at the intermediate school, and three at the elementary school.

Hired were: Joseph Damiano, business teacher; Evelyn Hydock, Spanish teacher; Kim Bittle, special education teacher for grades seven and eight; Ralph Pointkowski, special education grades nine to 12; Renata Lawrence, emotional support special education teacher, intermediate; Lauren Deibert, second grade; Abbie Neff, second grade; and Tianna Pucklavage, first grade.

All were hired at the current Panther Valley Education Association contract rates as follows: Damiano, Lawrence, Deibert, Neff and Pucklavage, $43,436; Hydock, $45,689; Bittle, $66,401; Pointkowski, $68,201.

The board also approved Patricia O’Gurek as a school psychologist assistant for summer work at a rate of $40 an hour, not to exceed 100 hours.

Courses

The board approved the following courses for teachers:

• Kayla Stubits, intermediate schoolteacher, Integrate Mobile Tech in Classroom, $510/credit and Classroom Management, $380/credit, both three credit courses at Gannon University.

• Lauren Edsall, JSHS teacher, Culture and Diversity of ELL (English Language Learner) and Standards Align System, three credits each, $516 a credit, Kutztown University.

• Alice Andrews, elementary teacher, Literacy and Literature, three credits, $516 a credit, Wilkes University.

• Amber McFadden, elementary teacher, Organization, Implementation and Evaluation of School Reading Programs and Early Literacy; three credits each; $516 a credit, East Stroudsburg University.

Personnel moves

The board approved these personnel moves:

• Volunteer/chaperones, effective immediately for current school year - Korin Strohl, Angelica Shook, Matta Mariangelis, Jamie Lazar and Jennifer Schlegel.

• 2023 Summer School staff - Keith Gogal, Sue Solt, Michele Martin, Chrisanne Powell, Pauline Romanowski, junior/senior high school; Michelle Teetz, Kirsten Matalavage, Tara Yurichek, Melissa Wickersham, intermediate school; Heather Wagner, Jo Anne Damian, Nicole Wynings, Victoria Yazwinsky, elementary school.

• Summer 2023 Extended School Year Program - Hannah Mordaunt, teacher, and Joseph Henry, paraprofessional.

Other actions

The board also approved:

• These requests to carry over vacation days from 2022-23 to 2023-24 contract years: Jennifer Kupetz, three days; Mary Louise Gauronsky, two days; Lori Tara, three days; Irene DeGiosio, eight days, and Valerie Matika, three days.

• Paraprofessional Heather Rodriguez as “highly qualified” as per the collective bargaining agreement at a rate of $14.28 an hour.

• Pauline Romanowski as the prison education program teacher (teacher for the incarcerated) for 2023-24 school year at a rate of $40 an hour.

• Bruce Millheim, JSHS teacher, in the master’s degree column of the teacher contract for the 2023-24 school year.

• Posting for three paraprofessional positions for 2023-24 school year funded through Title I grant.

• Posting for intermediate school math coach for 2023-24 school year funded through Title I grant.

• These transfers: Mary Hoffman, elementary grade 1 to intermediate school life skills; Tatiana Shellhamer, intermediate ES to intermediate life skills; Stefanie Palina, elementary kindergarten to intermediate grade 4 science; Tonya Drum, elementary grade 2 to elementary kindergarten; and Alice Andrews, elementary grade 2 to elementary reading specialist.

• Temporary additional accounts payable job duties for Jamie Gallagher, retroactive to April 20 and continuing to June 30, at a rate of $17.51 an hour.