Pleasant Valley School Board reorganization

Pleasant Valley School Board held its reorganization meeting on Thursday, welcoming two new directors and electing officers.

New school directors Donna Yozwiak and Laura Jecker were sworn in by District Justice Colleen Mancuso just before their first executive session.

Joining the new members were re-elected directors Len Peeters, Dan Wunder, Robert Serfass and appointed director Ken Cocuzzo.

Cocuzzo had served on the board since July when he was appointed after the resignation of Steve Borger. Cocuzzo ran in the November election and won his seat.

The directors started the meeting by reorganizing. Past President Russell Gould was absent and did not take part in the election of officers.

Peeters was elected to serve as president for the next year. Susan Kresge will serve as vice president and Cocuzzo will serve as treasurer.

Yozwiak will serve a three-year term, and Russell Gould was appointed to the one-year term, as representatives to the Joint Operation Committee at Monroe Career and Technical Institute.

Kresge will also continue on as a representative to the MCTI JOC and serve the board as legislative chairwoman. Kresge and Peeters will be PSBA voting delegates.

The board also voted to change the start time of future school board meetings to 7 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.

Personnel votes

A regular board meeting followed the reorganization. The new board members joined Peeters and director Delbert Zacharias in voting no on the hiring of Roland Steele as a third shift custodian. Yozwiak and Jecker also abstained on voting for the hiring of Stacy Stair as assistant to the business manager.

Stair was hired at a rate of $80,000 per year to replace Monica Kotzmann, who recently retired after 33 years with the district.

Yozwiak and Jecker also voted no on six contractual fundraising items listed on the business manager’s report.

All six contracts were related to the Four Diamonds Mini-THON.

Jecker has previously states that she would not vote affirmatively on any Four Diamonds Mini-THON items, preferring instead to see the school fundraising efforts go directly into the Pleasant Valley community and not a nationwide organization.