Paige Gebhardt Cognetti Archives - Scranton Citizen
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City Confidential / 21.12.2018

For those following the antics of the Scranton School Board, this week they did not disappoint. Wednesday's meeting saw the majority directors slam through a 3.6% tax increase and a rushed appointment to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Paige Gebhardt Cognetti.  The increase comes from a $5 million revenue shortfall that needed to be made up if the district was going to balance its $166 million in expenses.  Directors divided along expected lines and the motion won passage in a 5-3 vote with Robert Casey, Barbara Dixon, Bob Lesh (BL!), Greg Popil, and Paul Duffy in favor and Kate Gilmartin, Mark...

City Confidential / 14.12.2018

Well, that was fast.  Twenty-four months and five days after being appointed to the Scranton School Board Director Paige Gebhardt Cognetti tendered her resignation.  Cognetti announced her decision this week in a public Facebook post.  She's also accepted a job working for Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, who like Cognetti, has doggedly pursued matters of financial malpractice within the Scranton School District. We don't blame the reform minded Ivy League graduate for wanting out.  During her two-year tenure, she took on entrenched interests and was the brunt of jokes, name calling, and misogynistic treatment by her colleagues. The knock on Cognetti has been that...

City Confidential / 07.12.2018

Who needs cable when Scrantonians can attend Scranton School Board meetings?  This week your favorite cast returned for the premiere of their new season.  They never fail to deliver the high drama, laughs, and controversy avid viewers have come to expect. The directors, minus Greg Popil (more on that later), met Monday night for their annual re-organization meeting.  Almost immediately, chaos ensued.  Directors shouted over one another as five different members - Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, Barbara Dixon, Katie Gilmartin, and Tom Schuster - were nominated for President.  Gilmartin was defeated in a 5-4 vote, with Robert Casey, Dixon, Paul Duffy, Bob Lesh (BL!), and Popil voting...

Crime / 20.11.2018

State law enforcement officials raided the offices of the Scranton School District Tuesday and seized boxes of evidence for the ongoing corruption investigation of district practices.  State Police and investigators from the Office of the Attorney General seized files and computers from the board secretary and transportation offices.  The raid is linked to the September arrest of Daniel Sansky, who faces several felony counts for defrauding taxpayers. Sansky is charged with using his business, Danny’s Auto Service, to overbill and double-bill for work performed on district vehicles. The indictment, and Tuesday's raid, were set in motion by a scathing 2017 performance audit...