YATESVILLE — Pittston Area’s school board met on Tuesday night, but Assistant Superintendent John Haas was still leading the meeting in place of Superintendent Kevin Booth.
Booth was charged by Pittston City police following a domestic disturbance complaint at his residence in October. Booth was arraigned on a misdemeanor charge of simple assault and a summary offense of harassment, with the allegations specifically stating that he “choked” his wife, Jessica. Booth denied the allegations. Days later, Booth admitted himself to an inpatient rehabilitation center.
At the October board meeting, a motion to “ratify the retroactive placement of employee #040377 on administrative leave effective Oct. 14, 2025, with continued salary and benefits as outlined in the employee’s contractual agreement, pending further action by the board,” was unanimously approved. At both that meeting and the one held Tuesday, Booth’s name was not stated. Following the meeting in October, Haas did not answer when asked whether or not the item and employee ID number referred to Booth.
On Thursday, Attorney Samuel Falcone, the district’s solicitor, said that Haas taking on Booth’s duties is a contractual obligation. According to Falcone, Haas, as assistant superintendent, automatically takes on Booth’s responsibilities if Booth is unavailable. Haas himself said that “acting superintendent” is not his official title in Booth’s absence.
As for Booth, his preliminary hearing on a misdemeanor charge of simple assault and a summary offense of harassment was rescheduled from Thursday to Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Other matters
Matt Marriggi, an incumbent school board member who lost his seat in this month’s election, was praised for his service to the district by both Haas and Board President Frank Serino. Marriggi seemed to indicate that a future run to regain a seat on the board is in his sights.
“I’ll be back soon,” Marriggi said in response to Serino saying that he’d like to see him on the board again.
At the district’s re-organization meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m., newcomer Marissa Chiumento will join a board that includes incumbents John Adonizio, Michael Crawford, Katherine Healey, Martin Quinn, Rosanne Ricotta, Joseph Salvo, and Serino.
In personnel, Samantha Pisano was appointed to the position of social studies teacher at the high school, though the vote was unusual in that it was not unanimous. Healey voted ‘no’ to Pisano’s hiring, saying that she was impressed with another candidate during the interview process.