Dziabo

CRESSON — The Penn Cambria School Board called for the resignation of one of its members during a regular meeting Tuesday night.

After an executive session for personnel discussions at the beginning of the meeting, the board voted 6-1, with Caleb Drenning absent, to publicly ask Anthony Dziabo to resign from the board after they were made aware of felony home improvement fraud charges filed against him. Guy Monica was the only board member who opposed ousting Dziabo, who allegedly received more than $22,000 for home improvement projects he did not complete.

Board President Michael Sheehan said he spoke with Dziabo about the incident prior to the meeting and asked whether he wanted to resign on his own. But Dziabo chose not to do that nor attend the meeting, Sheehan said.

“We needed to let the public know that we don’t condone that type of behavior,” he said, adding there’s no policy that allows the school board to remove Dziabo from his position.

While he doesn’t know what will come out of the board’s motion, Sheehan said Dziabo can resign by writing a letter or email to the board.

“I did give him that option today,” Sheehan said. “He chose not to do so.”

Dziabo, who did not attend Tuesday’s meeting, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In other business, the board adopted resolutions to install door controller systems and authorized the issuance of general obligation bonds for the purpose of providing funds for capital improvements to district facilities.

The bonds, in an amount not to exceed $12 million, will be invested into an account the district created with the Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust. Then as architect and construction costs go out to bid, the money is paid out of the account from the bond, which the district pays back over the lifespan of its projects, Superintendent Bill Marshall said.

He said the controller systems are purchased and installed from Empire Communications at a cost not to exceed $38,972, with funding provided by two grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

“These are going to be controllers for exterior doors so we know if they’re ajar,” Marshall said. “There will be alarms which will notify us that the door is not closed.”