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Buena wants to weed out non-resident students BUENA -- The Buena Regional School District has hired a former police captain to crack down on students who could be attending the district illegally, costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in tuition. Officials appointed Frank Woshnak, 52, of Minotola to serve as the district's security/truant officer and investigator. His primary responsibilities will include: · Investigating several cases of students whom officials believe might not live in communities served by the district. Superintendent Diane DeGiacomo believes there may be 10 nonresident students illegally attending classes here. Collectively, they may be bilking the district of $100,000 in tuition fees annually -- which ultimately is absorbed by taxpayers. · Investigating truant students. · Handling the legal end of truancy and nonresidency cases. The appointment is meant to be a safeguard to protect taxpayers' money, Business Administrator Tom Kearney said. When not actively pursuing truancy and nonresidency cases, Woshnak will be stationed at J.P. Cleary Middle School, where he'll serve as a security officer. The school district has been without a truancy officer for about a year, DeGiacomo said. Last year, it attempted to procure the services of Buena police to fill the position, but borough officials turned down the request because they feared it would overburden the force. The part-time job pays $11.75 an hour, and Woshnak could start as early as next week, DeGiacomo said. Woshnak's lengthy investigative experience prompted his appointment, she said. "I think I can assist them," Woshnak said, "in identifying the people attending school that do not live in district and are thereby cheating the district and the taxpayers of tuition money that would be required." Woshnak previously served as a captain in the Collingswood Police Department, where he managed day to day operations before retiring in December. He said he spent the previous 10 years working his way up in the department's detective bureau.
Buena Regional middle school plan downsized BUENA -- Buena Regional School District officials have opted for a scaled-down version of the new middle school they envision, hoping the smaller building cuts the project's cost. A revised schematic design for the school calls for a 92,200-square-foot building. That's 14,150 square feet less than the district's original plan, which it submitted last year to the N.J. Department of Education. The altered design, which calls for a smaller gymnasium and fewer science labs than initially sought, should be submitted to the state next week for review. School board members last week gave their unanimous approval to the new plan. Voters are still scheduled to have their say during a September referendum. District officials had to revisit their plans for the school and reduce the original size after the Education Department told them the project wouldn't receive as much state aid as they anticipated. It's still uncertain what the final savings would be. The state can determine how much aid the district might get only after reviewing the design. Based on the state's financial assessment, the board can again decide to alter the plans further if necessary, Superintendent Diane DeGiacomo said. Education Department guidelines, on which state funding is based, call for a 78,000-square-foot building. But anything smaller than the 92,200-square-foot school Buena Regional has proposed could be educationally detrimental, DeGiacomo said. "The state's model is under the amount of square footage we need, but we're willing to move in that direction," she said. "This is adequate for the district's needs. Anything smaller and you could start compromising our programs." The changes board members approved won't affect educational programs or structural integrity, DeGiacomo said. The accepted changes include a smaller gymnasium that would accommodate 500 people instead of the 700 initially proposed, said principal architect Larry Merighi of Manders-Merighi Associates in Vineland. That's still bigger than the state standard for a middle school gym, which calls for accommodations for about 250 spectators, Merighi said. The gym's size would be ample enough to allow for community events, officials said. The number of middle school science labs was cut from six to four -- which is still one more than the state model, Merighi said. "We will have to be very diligent in our scheduling to make sure we are sharing labs," DeGiacomo said. "But, hey, it's still better than what we have now." The new building would replace J.P. Cleary Middle School, which only has one science lab for performing experiments. Under the plan, the district would renovate Cleary and transform it into an elementary school. One part of the state model the district chose not to incorporate is a combined cafeteria and auditorium. In a combined setting, DeGiacomo said, the large number of middle-schoolers on the breakfast program and multiple lunch periods would pose a scheduling conflict with visual and performing arts classes. The new middle school would be built next to the high school along Weymouth Road. Originally published Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Wrestling: Buena back in Grp. II sectional final
BUENA -- Heavy is the head that wears the crown. After battling its way to a 13-6 dual meet record, the Buena Regional wrestling team may have appeared vulnerable in defense of the South Jersey Group II wrestling title it won last winter. The Chiefs entered this year's tournament as the top seed, but there were whispers that Buena might not have what it takes to reach the pinnacle again this year. Buena hushed many of the doubters with a resounding, 45-21 victory over Delran in the semifinals Tuesday night. The Bears entered the matchup with a 22-1 record, but they weren't able to match up with the defending champs, who had the advantage of a raucous home crowd. In Thursday's sectional final, Buena will host Manchester, a 28-21 winner over Point Pleasant Boro in the other semfinal. "(Buena) was certainly the best team we have seen all year. They were highly underrated by some folks because they took some losses," Delran coach Dennis Smith said. "They lost to some of the best teams in South Jersey. Tonight they fielded the best possible lineup they could against us, and we didn't match up well. They simply had too much firepower." With the match starting at 130, the Chiefs' Phil Asencio set the early tone by recording a 8-2 decision over Delran's Pat Haggerty. Buena's Anthony Badarraco decisioned Dan Prister, 5-2, at 135, and Chiefs stalwart Ricky Wilcox was awarded a forfeit at 140 to build a 12-0 lead, and Delran never got close. "Their record didn't intimidate us because we wrestled some of the better programs around this year," Buena coach Doug Castellari said. "Sometimes that can work against you. There is a real fine line, especially with a young team. But I think we started to get things turned around at just the right time this year." Tom Lodge got the Bears on the board with a 6-2 decision over the Chiefs' Dennis Ehret at 145. Buena's Mike Wilcox followed with a key, 7-1 decision at 152. Buena took five of the next seven matches, highlighted by DeJuan Corbitt's 54-second pin of the Bears' Anthony Garcia at 215 to amass a 39-15 lead. On the night, the Chiefs took 10 of the 14 bouts and served notice that they don't plan to part with their title quietly.
Lightweights provide boost to Buena Reg.
BUENA -- With a tie score and six bouts to go in Thursday night's South Jersey Group II wrestling championship match, nobody on the Buena Regional bench was rattled. Seconds later, Fred Shea, who bumped up to 112 pounds in a strategic move by Chiefs coach Doug Castellari, was on his back, and the match seemed to be in the balance. "I was a little worried," Shea said. "The pressure was on me, and I knew I had to come through." Shea rallied back to within two points, then rolled Manchester's Kyle Kinchen to his back with six seconds on the clock for three back points and an improbable win. Buena went on to a 38-15 victory and its second consecutive sectional title. Shea's win started a run of six consecutive Buena victories, as the Chiefs took 10 of the 14 bouts. Manchester (16-4) recorded its only bonus points via forfeit at 103. "It got the momentum going, and everyone kept it up," Shea said. "Winning this, it's an awesome, awesome feeling." Buena (16-6), which has won four sectional crowns in the past 11 years, advances to Saturday's state semifinals against North II champion Voorhees. The Chiefs will be the third seed. North I champion Kittatiny and Central champ Raritan meet in the other semifinal. "We just want a shot to wrestle Kittatiny in the final," said Castellari, whose team lost in the state final a year ago to Kittantiny, 31-24. His troops want more than that. "We want to get the job done and bring it home," said 189-pounder Paul Zemanik, who scored a key, 2-1 overtime decision over Kevin Malast. "We have to get Dougie (Castellari) one. He's been up there a few times and deserves it." Malast is among the best in the state at 189, Castellari said, but his style didn't show it. The Hawks' senior seemed somewhat disinterested and never approached a successful shot. "My strategy was to frustrate him, and it worked," said Zemanik, who is nursing a sprained right ankle. Zemanik won when Malast was called for stalling 38 seconds into overtime. Malast received a stalling warning earlier in the second period. Zemanik's win came in one of three matches -- including 160 and 189 -- Castellari said were "toss-ups." Buena won all three. Steve Seelman counterattacked his way to a 12-8 decision over John Sheehan at 160, and DeJuan Corbitt, thanks to a takedown with two seconds left, earned a 14-5 major decision over Nick Ott at 215. "I'm just a powerful wrestler, and that works for me," said Corbitt, who started the winter on the track team before rejoining the wrestling squad in January. "Now I have to go up to Trenton to get two more (wins)." The meat of Buena's lineup -- Shea, his brother, Bobby (125), Phil Asencio (130), Anthony Badaracco (135) and Ricky Wilcox (140) -- did its job, recording two decisions, two majors and a pin. Wilcox ended the night with a bang, recording the match's only fall in 2:32 over Bill Meaney. "We really didn't match up well with (Manchester), but we gutted it out," Castellari said. "It's exciting to get a chance to go back (to Trenton)."
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