FARRELL, PA. School complex to use security doors, greeter

The board will use a bank loan to substitute for unpaid subsidy payments.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
FARRELL, Pa. -- Security is being beefed up at the Farrell Area School District complex on Roemer Boulevard.
The school board voted Monday to seek bids for the installation of security doors at the high school, central office and elementary school and will also install a buzzer admission system at those locations to prevent anyone from just walking into the schools.
The board also voted to hire a greeter to sit at a desk at the high school main entrance for 61/2 hours a day to admit people to the building and have them sign in as guests.
Superintendent Richard Rubano said improved building security has been under discussion for some time, but a recent case in which a robbery suspect was fleeing from police in the vicinity of the complex sped up the process.
The school was put into an emergency lockdown while police searched for the suspect.
Bids on the new doors are expected by Nov. 25, Rubano said.
Other business
In other business, the board:
UVoted to borrow up to $1,417,250 from First National Bank of Pennsylvania because the state has yet to make any 2003-04 subsidy payments. The governor and state Legislature haven't approved a state education budget yet, leaving districts scrambling to pay their bills. Farrell is already behind $2 million in subsidy payments and will be forced to begin drawing down the bank loan in December unless the state resolves the budget problem by then, Rubano said. Farrell will pay 2.68 percent interest on any money it borrows.
UVoted to enter into a collection service agreement with the Credit Bureau of Beaver County to go after delinquent day-care accounts. Rubano said some people aren't paying for their day-care services, and the program, which has been losing money for 10 years, is facing $5,000 in delinquencies. The district may have to raise its fees for the program, or the program itself could be in jeopardy, he said. Fees are based on a sliding scale determined by the age of the child and hours spent at the center.