WILMINGTON AREA SCHOOLS Pupils from other districts won't be accepted

Tight classroom space is one reason for the decision.
By LAURA MILOSER
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The Wilmington Area school board has agreed not to accept pupils from outside district borders.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act mandates all schools identified as performing poorly on assessments must provide pupils a choice to attend another public school.
Superintendent Dr. C. Joyce Nicksick said at Monday's board meeting that since many districts in the surrounding area have only one school for pupils at specific grade levels, the pupil can ask to be accepted by a neighboring school district.
Nicksick said fluctuation in enrollment and tight classroom space at the middle school and high school levels were reasons she recommended the board deny any possible requests.
The district has a total of 1,679 pupils enrolled. The Intermediate Unit IV has 36 special-needs pupils enrolled at Wilmington.
The elementary schools have an enrollment of 536 pupils; middle school, 500 pupils; high school, 569; and 38 Wilmington students attend Lawrence Count Vocational Technical School.
The district hired Sonja Wastvedt of New Wilmington to be employed as a fourth-grade teacher to help reduce class size.
Nicksick said over the summer enrollment increased from 105 to 115 pupils in fourth grade. She said the district's policy is to keep class size between 25 to 28 pupils. There are a total of five classes in fourth grade.
Personnel
The district accepted the resignation of Wendy Campbell as tax collector for Volant Borough, and approved Natisha Snyder to collect wage taxes and occupational taxes for the district from Volant Borough. Joan Garrett was approved to collect real estate and per capita taxes for the district from Volant Borough.
The board also:
URecommended Carolyn Huff as an hourly secretary at New Wilmington Elementary. No salary figure was available.
UApproved Michael Neurohr, Amanda Schlegel and Jennifer Green as long-term substitute teachers. No salaries were available.
UApproved Joe Anderson as middle school student council adviser at a salary of $1,550.
UApproved Lisa Reiber as assistant girls volleyball coach at a salary of $1,400.