The Wyoming Valley West school board appointed Karolina Levesque as its newest member at a special meeting Wednesday.
Levesque fills the Region 4 (Kingston) vacancy left by Tim McGinley, who resigned from the board on Jan. 1 to start his term as Luzerne County Controller on Jan. 5. She will complete the remainder of the term through 2027.
Kingston Mayor Jeffrey Coslett and the Kingston Borough Council recommended her for the position. The board approved her appointment unanimously.
“All nine board members and myself care about this district, so I think she’s going to fit right in,” Wyoming Valley West Superintendent Charles Suppon Jr. said.
Levesque is the president of the Nurse Practitioners of Northeast Pennsylvania. She has about 40 years of experience in healthcare education and is an adjunct faculty member at Penn State University’s clinical program.
“I felt this was a really good connection, as far as going from health education to another passion of mine, which is education throughout the community and the greater state,” Levesque said, noting that three of her sons graduated from Wyoming Valley West.
She said she hopes to contribute to a mentoring program within the district for student outreach and support.
“Just talking to her, she’s passionate about Wyoming Valley West, and that’s all you can ask for,” Suppon said.
Other news
At the regular meeting on Jan. 14, Wyoming Valley West School Board President Charles Kamus said the board was soon expecting a state police report on the investigation into a social media post made from a “compromised” account of a school administrator regarding the killing of Charlie Kirk.
The board did not provide an update on the investigation at the special meeting Wednesday. Suppon declined to comment on the investigation.
“We will update the entire situation at once at a board meeting,” Suppon said.
The board approved a resolution authorizing the sending of the statement of charges and notice of the right to a hearing for employee #895611. Suppon said the employee is not the administrator involved in the Kirk post investigation and declined to provide further comment.
The board also approved a resolution between the Redevelopment Authority of Luzerne County (RALC), through Municipal Revenue Services (MRS), and the Wyoming Valley West School District regarding delinquent tax claims.
Wyoming Valley West Business Manager Robert Kachurak said the district is selling delinquent tax claims to RALC and will receive a lump sum payment up front. He said this could provide the district with an estimated $90,000 of interest income, which would go toward a fund yet to be determined.
Various school district officials said this will not result in additional costs to the district or taxpayers.
