District to replace pipes beneath Lakeview High

The school district will save through cooperative buying.

By ERIC GROSSO

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

CORTLAND — The Lakeview School District is preparing for the fall with a number of projects, including spending about $15,000 to replace leaking pipes underneath Lakeview High School.

The work will include new copper piping, which services the home economics department and the varsity locker rooms.

School officials began noticing dampness around the home economics department earlier this year, including damp drawers and mold along the walls. Superintendent Robert Wilson said the district had a sump pump installed earl3ier this year.

After students left last month, Wilson said, the district found a water leak underneath the school, because of breaks in older pipes. He said the area with the water leak is encased in cement, making it much cheaper to bypass the older system with new pipes.

He said the estimate to break up the cement and replace the original pipes was almost double the approximate $15,000 the district will pay for the installation of the new pipes.

The school board has also entered the Ohio Cooperative Purchasing Program, part of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services. The program allows members to buy goods and services through state contracts. The district will pay $100 to use the program for the 2007-08 school year.

Wilson said he expects the district to save anywhere from 10 percent to 40 percent on products eligible to be purchased through the program, such as cleaning and office supplies, library and office furniture, mailing supplies, computer software and playground equipment.

There are more than 1,600 members enrolled in the program each year.

Online classes continued

The district also voted to continue participating in the Jefferson County Educational Services Center Virtual Learning Academy for the 2007-08 school year. The academy allows students to take online courses from either home or the school and is offered to students in grades nine through 12.

About 15 Lakeview students were enrolled in the program last year, with two students able to catch up on credits and graduate after falling behind, according to Wilson.

The Jefferson County program offers 81 different courses. The Academy will allow students to take courses outside the classroom, but they can still be enrolled as Lakeview High School students — making them eligible for extracurricular activities. The enrollment status also makes them eligible for a high school diploma using the program, Wilson said.

This is the second year Lakeview is using the Jefferson County program. Wilson said he hopes to expand the program in the future, including offering it to Lakeview Middle School students. “It’s a great tool to be able to reach the kids that are tougher to reach,” he said.