WACO board puts security, lighting matters on hold due to finances

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

WAYLAND ? Finances put the brakes on ? for at least the short term ? a couple of projects in the WACO Community School District.

School board members, meeting in their regular monthly meeting Monday, opted against card swipe entrance to the two attendance centers, internal cameras and wireless clocks.

?I am looking at the money situation,? Superintendent Fred Whipple advised the board regarding the added security features. ?It is something you can put off. I would like to see you build up money in the funds before you do it.?

Vicki Reynolds, elementary school principal, said she did not think the wireless clocks were needed. ?When the clocks go out at the elementary school, we replace them with atomic clocks. For us, wireless clocks are not that much of an issue, we can replace our clocks for $30-$40 each.?

The security measures would have cost the district between $70,000 and $80,000.

Board member Barb Shelman said she wished the district could afford the items. ?It would be nice to be able to have $40,000-$60,000 to burn on this, but we don?t have the money, it is not in the budget.?

Tim Graber, board president, said he would like to keep the items at the top of the priority list. ?I think we should take a look at it again in July. I think internal cameras are something we need to look at. It is pretty important to us, but we will wait a little bit.?

Another monetary item put on the back burner for now was the replacement of interior lights and ballasts. The district received a $12,900 bid from Universal Lighting Technologies Systems for the lights and ballasts. The lights and ballasts also included a $6,240 rebate, meaning the lighting equipment would cost the district $6,660.

?I am not sure we should do this,? Whipple said. ?The ones we have are working. Do you replace them when one burns out or do you take the good ones out? I think we should buy a couple of boxes and when the lights go out, replace them. However, you would not get the big rebate.?

Board members said they wanted additional research on the project before taking the plunge.

Contracts with the WACO support staff and WACO Education Association (WEA) were approved.

Support staff, which includes secretaries, custodians, cooks and associates, will receive a 42-cent per-hour salary increase. The district will also contribute $581.61 toward the health-insurance premium. The total package cost will increase by $30,101 or five percent.

The contract with the WEA is the second year of a two-year contract, and only language items were subject to negotiation. Base teaching salary in the district will increase by $200 to $27,360. The longevity step increase is $6 to $821.

Total package increase is three percent with the package cost rising by $85,581.55 to $2,936,587.

Whipple told the board that a new or good used passenger van was needed by the district. He said a new van would run around $30,000, but said a good used van could probably be purchased for $20,000. The board asked Whipple to get prices on both new and used vans.

In other transportation needs, Whipple said the school?s 2001 van and 2004 Ford Taurus are deteriorating rapidly, due to rust. Board members asked Whipple to keep the car and try to sell the van.

?I will try to get rid of it, and if we don?t get a good bid on it, we will trade it in (for a different automobile),? the superintendent said.

The district is looking at purchasing a different automobile in July.

Personnel matters saw the board accept the resignation of longtime elementary school instructor Laura Davison. Davison has taught in the district for 23 years.

A contract for Julie Bechtel as level II high-school strategist was approved. Bechtel is currently working for the Great Prairie AEA in Ottumwa. She has a master?s degree and is working toward her doctorate in special education leadership. Bechtel recently moved to Wayland due to family matters.

WACO School Board members meet again in regular session Monday, June 20, at 6:30 p.m.