<div>WELLSBORO — The Wellsboro Area School District board of directors denied requests to send middle and elementary faculty to the Pa. Educational Technology Expo and Conference.The 3-4 vote at the Nov. 10 meeting had Chris Gastrock, Jerry Curreri, Eric Baldwin and Meagan McConnell opposed with Dan Nowak, Glenn Reese and Scotty Brown in favor of the requests.The requests were to send a middle school team of Matthew Hildebrand, computer teacher/head teacher; Shane Mascho, guidance counselor and Erin Szentesy, English language arts teacher and elementary team of Isaac Cary, computer teacher; Brigette Largey, guidance counselor; Rachel Smith, librarian and Brent English, third grade to PETE&C on Feb. 7-10 in Mt. Pocono. The cost for the conference totaled $7,592.76.Although the cost came into the discussion, the main point of contention seemed to be who attended.Gastrock, board chair, said he wanted to see different faculty members attend the conference each year instead of the same people.According to district agendas posted on the website, the board sent Shane Mascho, Erin Szentesy, Matthew Hildebrand, Isaac Cary, Brigette Largey and Brent English in the 2025-26 school year along with Kate Kreger, Melissa Morral and Jessica Palmer. In 2024-25, the district OK’d Brigette Largey, Isaac Cary, Matthew Hildebrand, Jessica Palmer, Rachel Smith plus Ben Largey and Tammy Giarth to attend PETE&C.Drew Kyle, the elementary principal and the only principal at the meeting, said the conference is open for any teacher to attend. It is up to the individuals to request attendance.Superintendent Cheryl Sottolano said another reason faculty may not take part is the length of the conference.“You leave three days of lesson plans and you come back to a nightmare,” she said.Many of the elementary faculty attending the conference secure their own substitutes ahead of time rather than rely on the district’s contracted service, Kyle said.Melissa Morral, a past PETE&C attendee who was at the meeting, said the faculty who attend the meeting are “go-getters” who also have the availability in their personal life to attend the conference.“They go and get the information and they come back and put it to work,” Morral said.On returning to the district, the conference attendees share the information with other teachers at in-services, at grade-level and subject faculty meetings and as a resource months later when a teacher wants advice for a new idea, Kyle said.The cost was also part of the discussion. Earlier in the meeting, Sottolano provided a breakdown in some of the career and technical training, foreign language and professional development, which includes conferences. The district spent about $39,000 in the past year, not including substitute costs which probably account for another $3,000-$4,000, she said.Some board members indicated a desire to cut that amount in half. Administrators said that PETE&C is one of the larger and more expensive conferences, but serves all levels from teachers to administrators and provides information on technology that would otherwise be challenging to use.</div>

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WELLSBORO — The Wellsboro Area School District board of directors denied requests to send middle and elementary faculty to the Pa. Educational Technology Expo and Conference. The 3-4 vote at the Nov. 10 meeting had Chris Gastrock, Jerry Curreri, Eric Baldwin and Meagan McConnell opposed with Dan Nowak, Glenn...

Wellsboro school board denies conference request

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WELLSBORO — The Wellsboro Area School District board of directors denied requests to send middle and elementary faculty to the Pa. Educational Technology E

Wellsboro school board denies conference request

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