Bradford Area School District superintendent Sandra Romanowski
is now making $2,000 more a year than she was two months ago.

School district directors voted to increase Romanowski’s pay to
$107,000 for the 2005-06 year during a meeting Monday night.
Following a review, the board decided to grant Romanowski a 5.4
percent increase which went into effect July 1.

Board president Paul Ridley read from a prepared statement.

“Continuing the initiatives and objectives agreed to in advance
with the board, Sandy has reorganized her professional staff and
built a new group of high performance executives to carry out the
mission of the school district, along with a new rigorous
performance evaluation system,” read Ridley. “At the same time, she
has reduced the number of positions and total cost of
administration, while improving the level of instruction. We have
high expectations for her new team.

“Sandy has our total support and we know her dedication and
performance will benefit BASD students for years to come,” added
Ridley.

While the directors had praise for Romanowski, at least one had
disdain for The Era.

Director Richard Roupe took exception to The Bradford Era and
the way it chose to print the amounts of the administrator’s
salaries. He also criticized the fact that The Era had not printed
a letter to the editor he hand-delivered on Sept. 1 in response to
an article which ran Aug. 24.

“It is clear The Era has taken the low road in reporting the
school districts management salaries for a purpose known only to
them,” Roupe read from a typed letter. “Rather than present the
facts in the accurate year-to-year comparison as our letter to the
editor has just done, they choose to obfuscate and confuse the
facts. Even in the “correction” published on Sept. 7, The Era
refused to reprint the corrected table, on the front page, in the
same size as the original article, as was promised to me personally
by the editor of The Era.

“The Era, may for some reason resent how much they make, but I
know they earn every penny and then some,” added the letter in
closing.

But the administrators’ salaries were also questioned by the
public.

At the end of the meeting and in the recognition of visitors
section, Dorothy Frontino walked to the podium to address the board
regarding the salaries the administrators are receiving.

“I feel like I have to say this,” she said. “I have trees
growing in my yard and there are no dollar bills growing on
them.

“Those people probably deserve those raises, but you have to
remember this is Bradford, Pennsylvania. It falls on us older
people that we have to make up some of this difference. I really
feel bad about this,” she continued.

“I think those that received the 2 percent incentive should give
it to us senior citizens,” added Frontino. “Why don’t you take the
per capita tax away and give us a break?

“The widowers and widows shouldn’t have to lose their homes for
the people in Bradford to be making these wages,” she said. “I am
keeping the senior citizens in mind.”

Resident Jim Belardia also spoke.

“I was going to school in the late 50s and 60s, there were fewer
administration (positions) and there were more students and it was
not (automated,)” said Belardia. “Now we have computers and fewer
students and more administration – am I missing something?

“Why don’t you give a millage rebate to the people?” he
asked.

In other business, Rodney South asked the board of directors to
consider getting seat belts placed on the school buses.

Then he said he was glad of the savings provided by the district
as printed on a sheet available on a table in the meeting room at
Floyd C. Fretz Middle School. It touted a savings of $239,233 this
year than last.

“You saved us money this year over last,” said South. “The last
three years you (the board) have impressed me. She (Romanowski)
deserves more than what she is getting now.”

Resident Carlton Campbell said he appreciates the board members
and their ability to come up with reductions in expenditures in the
district.

Campbell also suggested that the district look into a new way of
allowing students to enroll in school prior to the day of
opening.

Officials said they are working on a plan to do that.

Director Keith Hatch announced names of those who applied to be
a member of the tax study commission. They are J.E. O’Mara, Dorothy
Frontino, Don Hallock and William Hurley Sr. The board allows for
more appointees up to five, seven or nine.