School board okays bus purchase, paving project
The Morgan County School Board approved the purchase of two 77-passenger Thomas-built school buses from Matheny Motors for $87,605 each for a total of $175,210. The action came at their July 2 meeting.
School Treasurer Nancy White said that their annual school bus replacement allocation from Step 4 monies from the school aid formula for fiscal year 2013 was $257,190.
The board had also discussed getting a smaller 35-passenger Thomas-built bus with the remaining $81,980. It could be used for transporting smaller groups of students to sports events or other activities.
Board member Aaron Close had wondered at an earlier meeting why they didn’t get two 35-passenger buses and one 77-passenger bus. They may have more than one smaller group going somewhere at the same time.
White told board members on July 2 that she’d learned of a 20-passenger bus option that was available. Two of them could be purchased for around the same price as the 35-passenger bus and there were significant savings in fuel and gas mileage. White said she would get the board more information on the smaller buses.
Facilities
Maintenance Supervisor Alston Yost briefed the school board on facilities projects. Crews were working on summer maintenance projects at various schools. Painting had been done at Greenwood Elementary, Paw Paw Schools, Warm Springs Intermediate and Pleasant View Elementary.
Blinds were being placed in designated classrooms at Berkeley Springs High School and in the Paw Paw High School science classroom.
Flooring projects included removing carpet and installing tile at Warm Springs Middle School, replacing cracked tiles at the intermediate school and replacing tile in the main building hallway at Berkeley Springs High School, the front section of the auditorium and in the main building stairwells.
A wall was removed in the Berkeley Springs High School cafeteria, which really speeded up the lunch line, said Yost. They’re now caught up with all the ceiling mounts that needed installed.
Paving projects
The school board awarded the bid for the summer paving projects at Widmyer Elementary and the bus garage to P & W Excavating for $41,580. The contractor will widen the turn and overlay portions of the parking lot at the Widmyer campus, build up the fuel station behind the bus garage and put in a walking path to the track.
In his final school board meeting, board member Larry Omps advised the board that they should look hard at any major expenditure and ask themselves if they would rather have the money in their checking account for the high school gymnasium building renovations.
Yost said he was concerned about where the waterline is when it freezes and when they’re pushing snow. The turn needed widened because water lays in there. The area needed to be raised to drain the water. Other sections required extra blacktop for strength.
Omps moved to approve the paving contract, with Close seconding it. The board approved it unanimously.
School nurse contract
The board okayed the annual contract with War Memorial Hospital for school nursing services. Services include specialized health care procedures, required routine health screenings and a call-tree list accessible for consultation or assistance during medical emergencies.
The hospital will continue to provide these services to Morgan County Schools for the 2012-2013 school years. The cost is $43,041.60, with additional services billed at $34.16 per hour.
School policies
The board approved revised policies on computer technology and networks, student network/staff network and internet acceptable use and safety and electronic mail at their June 19 meeting. The policies were being revised to align with new state regulations.
The school board also recently adopted their revised policy on substitutes in areas of critical need and shortage for the 2012-2013 school years. It allows retirees to work more days in those areas if needed.
