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Austintown
WHAT: Board of Education September meeting
PRESENT: Kim Smrek, Don Sherwood, Katie Berdis, Fred Marcum and Harold Porter
The board:
•Heard from part-time bus driver and substitute teacher Stephanie Rimidio, who expressed concern about multiple instances of motorists failing to stop when the school bus red lights are flashing and the "stop" sign is extended. She said the bus is equipped with a camera that does capture the license plate number of motorists passing a stopped bus, but the process of being able to report the incident falls apart because the township police and highway patrol require that the incident report be faxed. According to Rimidio, there is a fax machine in the office, but there is no landline phone connected to it so she and other bus drivers are unable to properly use the fax machine to file reports. She asked the board to reinstate phone lines to the office and the board agreed to pursue the matter.
•Approved the August budget.
•Approved purchase orders over $15,000 and transfers for the month as submitted.
•Approved the transfer of $182,437.40 from the general fund to the bus retirement fund.
•Approved the disposal/scrapping of the drill press in the woodshop at Fitch.
•Approved the following donations: $150 from Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church to the Fitch High School food pantry; $933 from the Volleyball Boosters to Athletics; $500 from the Class of 1976 to the concert choir tour; $1,452.24 from the Girls Soccer Boosters to Athletics for Uniforms and HUDL; and $435 from the Football Boosters to Athletics for football helmets.
•Approved the following resignations: Morgan Ainsworth, Title I PBIS Specialist (K-2); Nichole Mock, bus driver; Kenneth Kilpatrick, middle school boys track assistant coach; and Jenna Riccardo, middle school girls basketball grade 7 coach.
•Approved an Austintown Education Association lateral advancement salary schedule.
•Approved the following appointments: Kayleigh Burk, elementary school intervention tutor at $20 per hour; Lisa Hershey, tutor funded by the ATSI Grant at $25 per hour; Johnathan Bacak, Saturday School Teacher at $20 per hour; James Benge and Roxanne Stoner, bus drivers in training at $16 per hour; and Roxanne Stoner as substitute bus aide at $16 per hour.
•Approved nonbargaining stipends for the following: Megan Ladner, District EL teacher at $1,000; Gina Cardillo, Falcon Media general manager at $3,498; Andrea Reed, state testing PD Liaison at $3,700, which is funded by a grant; and William Price, football equipment manager at $1,500.
•Approved the student trip of the Fitch High School Concert Choir to New York City, April 15 to April 18, by Barons Motor Coach. Funds will be paid for fully by students, donations and fundraisers.
•Approved the student trip of the high school varsity volleyball for Quad Match at Westlake High School. It was funded by the Booster Club.
•Approved the contractual agreement made by Austintown Local School District and Supplemental Educational Services, Inc. (SESINC) to provide staff for delivery of Title I services to the Austintown Local School District students at the following: Valley Christian School, St. Christine School and Islamic Academy of Youngstown.
•Approved a resolution to adopt the Department of Education and Workforce Model Policies.
-- Susan Wojnar