Austintown school projects ahead

By Elise Franco

efranco@vindy.com

Moving forward seemed to be the unspoken theme of Monday’s school board meeting.

Nearly a week after the district’s 2.9-mill bond issue was passed by 56 percent of voters, district personnel are still saying thank you.

Superintendent Vince Colaluca said the bond issue, which will fund about $27 million of a $50 million project to replace two elementary schools, wouldn’t have passed without the hard work of the campaign committee and the school board.

Colaluca said the campaign committee will have meetings and discussion groups this summer to get input from community members on the schools themselves.

The superintendent said after the meeting contract negotiations between the Austintown Education Association and the school board are moving forward.

Colaluca said talks have been ongoing since April 2009, but he hopes to come to a tentative agreement soon.

“There’s now going to be an influx of money coming into the district over a three-year period,” he said. “It was really about the community and what this has done for the community.”

Dan Bokesh, director of curriculum, said he’s glad the community came together to support the school district. “They shared our vision for the future of the children in Austintown,” he said.