Pine-Richland Makes Top 10 in Region’s School Rankings

The district jumps up four slots from last year’s ranking by the Pittsburgh Business Times.

Pine-Richland continues to make its way up the ladder in the Pittsburgh Business Times annual school rankings of districts across the Pittsburgh area. Pine-Richland ranked 10th out of 105 districts in the region, which is four slots higher than the no. 14 ranking it received in 2012. "Pine-Richland School District is pleased to move into the top 10 regionally,” said Rachel Hathhorn, the district’s director of communications. “Our community, parents, school board, administrators, teachers and students partner to provide a more challenging academic program.” The region’s top five districts were unchanged from last year. Upper St. Clair was again ranked no. 1 in the area while Mt. Lebanon and North Allegheny retained the no. 2 and no. 3 spots…

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Pine-Richland Operating on Two-Hour Delay Monday

The area remains under a winter weather advisory until 2 p.m.

The Pine-Richland School District is operating on a two-hour delay Monday after a spring snow storm coated the area overnight. The district will operate a modified kindergarten schedule, with morning kindergarten meeting from 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. and afternoon kindergarten meeting from 2 to 3:45 p.m. St. Kilian Parish School in Cranberry and St. Gregory in Zelienople also have issued a two-hour delay for Monday. Nearly all of western Pennsylvania, including the Pine-Richland area, remains under a winter weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service until 2 p.m. tonight. Here’s a look at the rest of today’s weather forecast. Monday: Snow, mainly before 4pm. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 36. East wind 5 to 13 mph. …

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Pine-Richland Superintendent Search: President Says Board Says Candidates Are Being Examined ‘Closely’

Officials have concluded the first round of interviews of potential replacements for Dr. Mary Bucci.

In a letter to Pine-Richland parents and residents, school board President Peter Lyons said officials have concluded their initial interviews of potential candidates to replace superintendent Dr. Mary Bucci. They are now examining a number of candidates more closely, Lyons said. “This will include additional interaction with the board and a thorough examination of candidate backgrounds, as we assess the leadership qualities, experiences and abilities of each candidate,” Lyons wrote in the letter, which was posted on the district's website. The board began seeking a new superintendent after Bucci resigned in December. Prior to that, district officials had voted 5-3 not to renew Bucci's contract when it expired this year. The district has …

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Want to Help Choose an AP Chemistry Textbook for Pine-Richland School District?

The district is seeking community input.

Have you got something to say about the textbooks used in Pine-Richland School District? Here's your chance. The district is looking for volunteers to participate in the process of adopting an Advanced Placement chemistry textbook. A committee will meet to discuss the textbook at the Pine-Richland High School Library from 3 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5, and from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6. For more information and to join the committee, email Interim Superintendent Dr. David Foley at dfoley@pinerichland.org or Pine-Richland High School teacher James McNally at jmcnally@pinerichland.org. _________________________ Please help us get to 1,000 Facebook “likes” by clicking here and “liking” us. Check out some of today's other top …

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Ready to Sign Up Your Kindergartner for School?

Registration for Pine-Richland public schools is held in March.

Eric Kasperowicz Named Pine-Richland's Head Football Coach

The new head coach is the former PR offensive coordinator.

Pine-Richland has a new head football coach—Eric Kasperowicz. The Pine-Richland School Board made it official Monday night. Kasperowicz, who served as the program's offensive coordinator, fills the void left when longtime coach Clair Altemus announced his retirement after the 2012 season. "I'm excited for the opportunity and eager to get started," Kasperowicz said after the meeting. Before coming to Pine-Richland, Kasperowicz coached and played at North Hills High School under legendary coach Jack McCurry. Kasperowicz said it was a "privilege and an honor" to work with McCurry, but he did not give any thought to applying for the North Hills head coaching job to replace his former coach. He said he moved his family to the area two and a …

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Interviews to Begin in Search for New Pine-Richland Schools Superintendent

School board expects to hire superintendent in April to replace Dr. Mary Bucci, who resigned in December. The district did not plan to renew her contract.

The search for a new superintendent for Pine-Richland School District switched gears recently as the deadline to apply for the job passed and the hiring process moved into the interviewing phase. "The board is engaged in the selection of the first round of interviewees," school board President Peter Lyons said Monday. Lyons offered no details except to say the board would start interviewing applicants in February. The board seeks to hire a replacement for former superintendent Dr. Mary Bucci, who resigned in December after district officials said they did not plan to renew her contract. The distrrict hired the Pennsylvania School Boards Association as a consultant to handle the superintendent search and vet the applications so the board …

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Pine-Richland Kindergarten Registration Scheduled for March

Children must be 5 years old before Sept. 1, 2013, to enroll.

Are you ready for your little one to go to kindergarten? The first step is to register your youngster with Pine-Richland School District. To do that you will need to go to the district's administrative offices at 702 Warrendale Road in Gibsonia. Registration will be held from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m on March 6, 13 and 20. The date to go depends on the school in which your child is registering. March 6—Wexford Elementary School March 13—Hance Elementary School March 20—Richland Elementary School Before you go, however, make sure you click on this link and fill out a bunch of forms that you will need to take with you.  By the way, children must be 5 years old before Sept. 1, 2013. to enroll.  For more information, call 724-625-7773 ext. 6000 or …

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How Much Money Will Pine-Richland School District Get from Gov. Corbett's Budget?

The Pennsylvania Department of Education lists proposed funds by school district on its website; Patch checked out info for Pine-Richland.

Gov. Tom Corbett's budget is out and, of course, everyone wants to know how much their cut of the budget pie will be—especially school districts. Patch found that Pine-Richland School District is slated to receive a 5 percent increase from $10.3 million for the 2012-13 school year to $10.8 million for 2013-14 if the governor's proposed budget passes, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education's website. Funding is broken down into six categories on the website. The Pennsylvania Department of Education numbers are in the screenshot above. Here's a little more analysis: Increases: Basic Education Funding —from $4.64 million to $4.73 million, up 4.1 percent School Employees' Social Security—$1.04 million to $1.06 million, up 2.8 …

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