The Blairstown Elementary Board of Education voted to approve the Shared Services Agreement and Superintendent Employment Agreement at their regular meeting on Sept. 30. The agreement between Blairstown Elementary and North Warren Regional School district was first approved by NWR at their regular meeting on Sept. 28.
The official start date was Oct. 1, 2026, but the agreement is still pending county and state approval. Blairstown Elementary Principal and Acting Superintendent, Colleen Silvestri, will continue to fill the role until Oct. 15 while approvals are pending. The Shared Superintendent employment contract for Dr. Patrick Ketch was approved for a term of four years from Oct. 1, 2026 through Jan. 30, 2030. The approval also included a shared service agreement with NWR for facilities maintenance and repairs. The agreement is expected to run through June 30, 2027.
The employment agreement outlines a 60/40 partnership between the districts. NWR will contribute 60% of employment costs of superintendent salary, while BES will contribute 40%. Both districts agreed to a schedule of three days at NWR and two days at BES with accommodations in place should the need arise.
“We are sharing a superintendent,” stated Jeremy Cook, President of BES. “We have our goals; they have theirs.” He continued to say, “We pay 40% and they pay 60%; [Dr. Ketch is] there three days but there will be plenty of flexibility.”
With each school being a limited purpose regional school, each district consisting of one school, 2.5 miles apart, the consolidation of services has a substantial financial impact on both districts. The cost savings have been calculated at a savings of $543,000 over four years, or $223,804 for North Warren and $319,620 for Blairstown, respectively.
Concerns over transparency, open communication and district autonomy were raised during public comment. Residents questioned why an email was sent to the NWR community but no such communication had been sent to the Blairstown community.
While discussing the superintendent schedule, board member Brad Van Valkenburg stated, “I want to make sure communication is wide open [between the boards].”
The public was informed that, due to recommendations of legal counsel, the decision was made to delay any official announcements about the employment contract, but concerned residents were informed that each district would be administered independently.
“The whole goal is this is a group, joint effort”, explained Taylor Casey, Board President of NWR. “We’ve discussed the schedule and an open door policy.” She continued to say, “Our intention is to share many services; it’s a natural pathway to cost savings.”
In other board business, the newest member of the Blairstown Board of Education, Ross Gitomer, was sworn in. His term is to run from Sept. 30, 2026 to the Jan. 2027 reorganization meeting.
Transportation costs and field trips were approved. It was noted that initially field trips were going to be limited to one trip for the year, but ultimately two trips were approved for the year.
Roof maintenance, phone system updates and fuel proposals were approved along with an amended motion to participate in the Coordinated Transportation Service Agreement with Warren County Special Services School District. The contract was amended to include a 5% administrative fee, which was originally approved at 4.5%.
The next Blairstown Elementary Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Oct. 15, 2026.
