By Debbie Rogers
MILLBURY — The Lake Local Schools Board of Education continues to mind the dollars as the new elementary school is built.
At the July meeting, the board approved a bid from Burkett Restaurant Equipment and Supplies for $542,950.
“We rebid this portion of the new school construction project,” said board member Tim Krugh. “This was a rebid, which is lower than the first bid.”
The money will come out of the food service fund, which had a surplus, not the levy fund, he said. Administrators had to go through a vigorous government process to spend it down, Krugh said.
Having an excess in the food service fund is very unusual for a school district, he said.
The new elementary is expected to open in fall 2024.
In other business, the board approved several co-curricular funding changes. The changes had been tabled at the May and June meetings.
“It was just understanding more about them, and what they were looking for,” said board President John Ervin after the meeting.
“Normally, those co-curricular items, there is one or two a year. This is the largest list we’ve had since I’ve been superintendent,” said Superintendent Jim Witt.
A committee made up of union members, administrators and board members reviews the co-curriculars and recommends changes, Witt said.
The additional cost of the changes is about $20,000 annually.
The changes were:
• Reinstating funding for assistant cheerleader
• Adding a girls’ assistant basketball coach
• Adding a boys’ assistant basketball coach
• Reinstating funding for an assistant wrestling coach
• Increasing high school musical director position three steps
• Approving four assistant musical position to replace the high school assistant musical, high school musical second assistant, the choreographer, separating it from Jet Set
• Adding a middle school instrumental performance coordinator
• Adding a preschool grade level chair
The board removed two items from those recommendations: Raising the sixth grade camp stipend from $250 to $312 and adding a lead camp teacher stipend of $624.
Also at the meeting, the board:
• Hired Dave Shaffer as director of facilities and maintenance for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school year. His salary is $65,000 annually.
Shaffer recently retired as athletic director, but will stay on with the facilities and maintenance.
This is the end of the retire/rehire process for Shaffer, as mandated by law, Witt said.
• Approved the transfer in position for the 2023-24 school year of Megan Weiland, from sixth grade math to seventh grade math.
• Accepted the resignation of Allyson Shinaver, fourth grade.
• Hired these teachers: Melissa Cobb, fourth grade; Nolan Finch, sixth grade LEA; and Kasey Rogers, sixth grade math.
