School officials sworn in
School Superintendent David Banks administered the oath of office to recently elected school board members David Ambrose, Eric Kidwell and Aaron Close at their June 1 meeting. The three begin a four-year term on the school board that begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2014.
Ambrose was reelected to another term in the May elections. Kidwell was officially elected by voters after his appointment by the school board last year to fill the board vacancy when Margaret Zembower resigned.
Close was just elected to his first term in office. His first meeting serving as an official school board member will be Tuesday, July 6. That will be the school board’s organizational meeting.
School board president Laura Smith administered the oath of office to Superintendent David Banks for a four-year term beginning July 1 and ending June 30, 2014.
New and surplus buses
In other news, Morgan County Schools have purchased three new 77-passenger buses for $260,490, which includes delivery of the buses to the bus garage.
Two of the buses are Thomas-built from Matheny Motors and are priced at $86,535 apiece. The third bus is an International from Heritage Truck Center, which costs $87,420, said Transportation Director John Gue at the June 15 school board meeting.
The balance of last year’s unused bus replacement money and the funds allocated for fiscal year 2011 would be more than enough to cover the expense of the buses, said School Treasurer Nancy White. The state pays for 95% of the bus replacement cost.
White said that they were getting the maximum reimbursement possible for using biodiesel fuel. Gue said they also could claim RESA bus mileage for the Head Start program.
Gue expected the buses to be delivered around December. The buses would all have security cameras installed, he said.
“The condition of our fleet is top,” Gue said.
The board also approved selling four surplus buses at their June 1 meeting. Three buses would be sold to Steve Catalan for a total of $4,176. The fourth bus would be sold to SulliMotors for $1,262.
Summer projects
Summer painting contracts were awarded at the June 1 board meeting. Lassak Construction received the contract for the first floor of Berkeley Springs High School for a bid of $4,200, the high school SMS building for $6,200 and Pleasant View Elementary for $600.
McCoy Home Improvement was given the contract for painting at Warm Springs Intermediate School for a bid of $3,275 and Warm Springs Middle School for $3,880.
B & B Construction was awarded the contract for summer roof replacements for the Paw Paw High School library for a bid of $6,550 and the Greenwood Elementary portable for $3,625.
School calendar
It will now be possible to convert eight outside school environment days in the 2010-2011 school calendar to instructional days if needed because of inclement weather, Banks said.
The board approved three-hour early dismissals for September 23 and January 27, 2011 as Accrued Instructional Time (AIT) days for staff development. If there is a lot of snow, they could look at January 27 as a full-day of school for students, he said.
Policies
The school board conducted a second reading of a number of policies and approved them at the June 15 meeting. The policies pertained to bylaws, administration, programs, professional and service personnel, finances, property and operations.
The policy changes are part of an ongoing move to update county school policies, align them with state policies and incorporate changes made by the Legislature.
Student trip
The board approved the travel of eight Berkeley Springs High School students to Hershey Park on June 12 as a reward trip for RAZE, a teen tobacco prevention group. The trip was funded by students. Use of a county school van was okayed for the trip.
