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School board awards design contract
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
The city school board chose a Youngstown company to complete architectural, electrical and mechanical design work for the former Mary Haddow school building.
The school, on Oak Street Extension, will be renovated to house the district’s alternative school programs. The programs are housed at the old Hayes and Sheridan school buildings.
At a meeting Tuesday, the school board authorized professional design services to be done by Joseph M. Verostko Inc. for $24,000.
Harry Evans, district chief of operations, said the work to configure the building for the alternative programs is estimated at about $500,000, and that amount includes the design services fee. The work includes installing air conditioning at the school.
Last summer, the board decided to renovate the William Rayen and Irene L. Ward buildings, Wood Street, to house one of the alternative programs. That work wasn’t done, so the $569,000 that was budgeted for that work will be used at Mary Haddow.
The board also recognized students who received scholarships through the Young Scholars Program. The program, which is through Ohio State University, is based on financial need and successful completion of the program.
Graduating seniors receive $18,348 per year toward their education at OSU.
Recipients are Deunte’ Banks and Jon Green, both of Youngstown Early College, Cametreus Clardy and Barraya Hickson, both of East High School. Cierra Pruitt-Eiland of Liberty High School also received a scholarship.
Tiffany Quinones, program coordinator, said YSP started in 1988 and is designed to increase OSU’s enrollment of low-income, under-represented minority students.
Students apply for and are accepted into the program in sixth grade and must maintain a minimum 3.3 grade point average through their senior year of high school, the program coordinator said.
“There are outstanding students in the Youngstown City Schools,” she said.
Quinones, a city schools graduate herself, also introduced the 10 students who have been accepted into the pre-Young Scholars Program.
Those students are Andree Bowers, Tyler Davis, Michael Hughes and Jarelle Watkins, all of P. Ross Berry Middle School; Riyed Hamayel, Billy McGeorge Jr. and Gerald Walker, all of Wilson; Te’Ana Sullivan of Volney Rogers; and Ralph Reddinger and Robert Soto, both of Rayen Early College.
Quinones said she received 35 nominations and applications for the program this year but could only accept 10.
“You’re the best of the best,” she said.
Board members also passed a resolution of appreciation for Judge Theresa Dellick of Mahoning County Juvenile Court and the court’s sports program and a resolution honoring Jodi Kosek, the district’s teacher of the year for 2010. Kosek teaches first grade at Harding Elementary School.