by Richard Westlund

     Linda Fonti was sworn in as the new Board of Education member to fill the position left by the recent retirement of Don Tew. Members of the board welcomed her at the Jan. 19 meeting.

     Middle School Principal David Smith, speaking of the middle school students who competed in the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, said, "From my days as a busboy at Holiday Valley to my present position here in Gowanda, I have never been so proud of anything as I was of the kids who participated in this event." He went on to report that he received nothing but good words from everyone, not just on the students’ performance, but also on their general conduct on the trip overall. Smith also said that the award for Outstanding Musical Performance was only one of five awards the students from Gowanda received.

     Superintendent Charles Rinaldi stated in addition that he was impressed with the amount of national recognition teacher Cindy Ripley received for her accomplishments with the students. It was apparently a very successful and learning event for the Gowanda students. Smith reflected that of the 33 students who made the trip, 25 of them had never before been on.a commercial airplane.

     Rinaldi stated that there has not yet been a decision on the location of the proposed new athletic facilities. There will be another meeting of the BOE on that subject in the middle school cafeteria at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

     In other matters, the board:

   •  Approved a request for a variance to the regulations of the superintendent to allow Iroquois Studies as an alternative for government and economics for the period July 1 to June 20, 2010.
   •  Granted tenure, effective Jan. 21, to Denise Damon as a special education teacher.
   •  Appointed Emily Lynch as a school lunch monitor, effective Jan. 20, with a 12-week probationary period.
   •  Appointed Scott Strohmeyer as a substitute school lunch monitor, effective Jan. 20.
     The next regular meeting of the Gowanda Central School BOE will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. in the middle school cafeteria.