Northgate approves new board members

&emsp;&emsp;Two Bellevue residents have been appointed to fill vacancies on the Northgate School Board.&emsp;&emsp;In May, the board accepted the resignation of member Stephen Mehlo, and at their meeting on Monday accepted the resignation of Katrina Eames, who is moving from the district. Mehlo's resignation was effective May 31, while Eames's goes into effect July 1.&emsp;&emsp;The board conducted interviews Monday of two candidates for the two positions.&emsp;&emsp;Melissa Bilski was later appointed to fill Mehlo's seat, which she will hold through December 2025. She described herself as a 45-year-old parent of children who attend Bellevue Elementary, and a licensed psychologist in private practice who moved to Bellevue four years ago. She said that she previously worked in the counseling center of an area university and said that she saw the role of a school board member as helping determine "how to make systems better" and create a community "where there's room for everyone."&emsp;&emsp;Candidate Chelsea MacDonald, also 45, will take over the second seat on July 1. She also has a child who attends Bellevue Elementary School, and said that she has been employed in the service industry. She said that she had not really thought about the role of a school board member, and had not really followed recent changes in the district. She said that a board member should primarily focus on the well being of the students.&emsp;&emsp;Also at Monday's meeting, the board approved various motions related to paid personnel.&emsp;&emsp;The board approved job descriptions for two principal positions at the secondary school. Current principal Dr. Nicole Smith will take the position of student services principal for grades 7-12. The board also approved a job description for a secondary instructional principal, a position that will be filled by Dr. Nancy Bowman at a salary of $124,000. Bowman previously worked as the principal of Pine-Richland High School before accepting the newly-created position of coordinator of curriculum and instruction at North Allegheny in 2022.&emsp;&emsp;The board also approved a job description for an assistant secondary principal, a position that superintendent Dr. Caroline Johns said would primarily focus on discipline and tardiness. Johns said that the assistant principal will help implement "restorative" disciplinary programs as opposed to the traditional punitive programs in use. The position approved will last for the next two consecutive school years, and, once the new programs are in place, will be phased out, Johns said.&emsp;&emsp;The board created another second grade teacher position at Bellevue Elementary for the coming school year, which will allow for an additional second grade classroom due to increasing enrollment.&emsp;&emsp;Theodore Papazekos was hired as a kindergarten teacher.&emsp;&emsp;Todd Goble was hired as the part-time, then full-time, athletic director for the next year. Goble will hold the position part-time until he retires from teaching next January, at which point he will become full-time at an annual salary of $20,000, pro-rated to $10,000 for the next school year. &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;