(File Photo of the PennDOT logo)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Beaver County, PA) A landslide occurred on Wildwood Road over the weekend and the road is now closed due to the weather. PennDOT declared the road closed after a part of the road crumbled up and some trees went down. According to PennDOT spokesperson Steve Cowan, the landslide occurred on Saturday and PennDOT is deciding how to fix the hillside through an evaluation.
*Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published April 7, 2025 8:46 P.M.
(New Brighton, Pa) The Superintendents of the New Brighton and Rochester School Districts held the first of two town hall meetings Monday evening in regards to sharing a superintendent between the two districts.
Dr. Joseph Gaurino of New Brighton and Dr. Jane Bovalino of Rochester presented a detailed overview of what they hope to accomplish with school board and community support at the New Brighton Auditorium.
The pair started the presentation by showing the decline in enrollment between the schools over the course of time. The most focus was given to data of the last 25 years.
The current combined enrollment between both districts in 2025 is just under 2000 students, which is even less than the enrollment at New Brighton alone in the year 2000.
The superintendents would like to see both districts share a superintendent by the 2026-2027 school year. Dr. Bovalino is retiring in July 2026 and Dr. Gaurino is willing to take on the job.
They believe that taking this step into a shared superintendent would potentially open up both districts for more educational opportunities for students. Some examples included AP classes and Woodshop that are offered at New Brighton and not Rochester. They say that teachers would also be able to communicate with each other to further improve education in both schools.
The Rochester School District operates on a budget around 19 million a year while New Brighton is 29 million. The projected savings in a shared superintendent are $350,000 over the first 5 years.
They went on to note that they do recognize challenges are still expected. Dr. Gaurino said that it would take time to learn as much about Rochester as he does New Brighton and scheduling would take work. The pair noted that things like special events would take extra planning to ensure that the superintendent can give their full attention to both schools.
A key factor that they both brought up often during the presentation was that both districts are only 2.2 miles and 8 minutes away from each other.
Data from schools in New York and Minnesota were highlighted as well. 93% of boards in both states that have shared superintendents say they would do it again. Furthermore, a pair of schools in Pennsylvania were highlighted as well for not continuing to share a superintendent.
Eastern Lancaster and Columbia Schools opted to not continue with shared administration after trying it for a period of time. Gaurino says that they hope to learn from the errors and issues they had to prevent them in this case.
Both a transition board and community transition board would be put in place should they continue with the share. The transition board consists of 3 current board members from each district and the community transition board will be filled at a later time.
Both school boards will have to agree to the proposed plan and they hope to reach a decision by August.
The Superintendent’s made a point of noting that they are not proposing a merger. In the long term, if the plan is successful they would hope to see more integration between the schools including more shared administrative and organizational personnel.
Following the presentation, the public was invited to participate in a Q & A.
The first man to asked a question that Guarino referred to as “ripping off the band aid”. The man asked why the district’s don’t just merge with each other.
The superintendent’s relayed that due to the data shown from declining enrollment, they are not sure that a merger would help in any way.
They did however note that sharing a superintendent is a good first step in exploring what the district’s can do together and if a merger makes sense in the future, it could possibly be discussed.
Another notable question asked was why hasn’t the district performed a study similar to what Monaca and Center did prior to the Central Valley merger to find out what costs and savings would look like.
Gaurino said that would likely be a costly investment to make and would only take place if the schools were at a point of seriously considering a merger. He also noted additional costs that a merger would require and said the grant funding that Central Valley used is currently not available.
However, Bovalino added that she will reach out to the Superintendent of Central Valley for more information on the matter.
Also during the Q & A, a few parents started a discussion on adding security to the schools if they are sharing students for classes. They requested that metal detectors be considered as they are not used by either district.
Bovalino commented she is thankful “we have good kids”. Gaurino noted that neither district has had any major issues with weapons and hopes that those standards of conduct among students will stay intact at whatever building they are in within the district.
The pair encouraged anyone with questions to reach out to them at any time. All data presented at the meeting is expected to be available publicly online.
A second town hall meeting is scheduled for April 28th at the Rochester Auditorium at 6pm.
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(File Photo of Handcuffs)
(Reported by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano)
(Aliquippa, PA) Aliquippa Police have arrested four separate individuals over the last two weeks. Thirty-seven-year-old Christina Tanner was arrested on April 1st after allegedly crashing into a house and two other vehicles. Tanner had charges filed against her for driving under the influence. Fifty-four-year-old Terry Johnson was also arrested on April 1st and received filed charges for driving under the influence. Thirty-year-old Ahmed Elkhatib was arrested on March 31st after an alleged incident of domestic violence and is now in the Beaver County Jail for harassment and simple assault. An indirect criminal complaint was filed against thirty-eight-year-old Shawn Murphy for a violation from protection of abuse. Murphy was arrested on March 28th.
(File Photo: Caption for Photo: PennDOT, PSP, PTC, Construction Industry Highlight National Work Zone Awareness Week)
(Reported by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano)
(Aliquippa, PA) A way to a road in Aliquippa has been reopened after it experienced levels of high water on Saturday. The closure occurred because of rainfall on a part of Kennedy Boulevard before the Franklin Avenue and Monaca Road interchange. Police are reminding residents to be careful in the area near Waugaman Street and Cesina Sausage.
(File Photo of Fire Background)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(West Aliquippa, PA) A fire occurred in West Aliquippa on Friday and the State Police Fire Marshal is still investigating its cause. A person that did not get accounted for was brought up from initial reports of a house on Allegheny Avenue catching fire. According to Aliquippa Fire Chief Tim Firich, the fire was in the basement and all three floors of the home. Firich also stated that the missing person was found at a neighboring house by the Aliquippa Police Department.
(File Photo of the Vanport Bridge on I-376 West)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Vanport Township, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver report that a man from Monaca was charged after causing a single-vehicle crash on the Vanport Bridge on I-376 West on Saturday. Twenty-six-year-old William Reef-Thomas did not have control driving on the bridge and hit a concreted barrier on the right side after his car slid from the left lane. According to police, Reef-Thomas was charged for driving on roadways that were laned for traffic.
(File Photo of Police Lights)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Darlington Township, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver report that a man from Petersburg, Ohio was charged after causing a single-vehicle crash in Darlington Township on Sunday. Thirty-five-year-old Thomas Newman became disabled after driving too fast close to 485 Crescent Drive. Newman also drove through a fence after he lost control of his car. According to police, Newman escaped the scene and received a citation for numerous violations after reporting the incident to police.
(File Photo of Police Lights)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(North Sewickley Township, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver report that a woman from Leetsdale was charged after causing a single-vehicle crash in North Sewickley Township on Sunday. Twenty-six-year-old Kasandra Moon was near 1149 Mercer Road and hit both some mailboxes and a utility pole with her car because she fell asleep during her drive home. Moon had no injuries, but police gave her a charge for driving carelessly.
(File Photo of a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Badge)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(North Sewickley Township, PA) A suspect was shot and killed by police after leading them through both Ohio and the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Friday. According to police reports, an unidentified man stole an Ohio State Highway Patrol Cruiser and crashed it going eastbound on I-76. At this time, no threat was identified to the public. The investigation for this incident is being handled by the Pennsylvania State Police Troop D Major Case Team.
