Weathersfield school employees accept wage freeze for next year
By Mary Smith
The board also approved new contracts for three workers.
MINERAL RIDGE — Weathersfield schools nonteaching employees have accepted a wage freeze for the 2009-10 school year.
The Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local 722, which includes 26 nonteaching employees, agreed to extend its contract for a year, effective July 1.
The previous contract was a three-year pact that gave the union members 2 percent in each year of the contract.
Schools Superintendent Michael Hanshaw thanked the OAPSE employees Wednesday night for “trying to help the district with the financial problems going on right now.”
Also Wednesday, the board approved new two-year contracts from Aug. 1 to July 31, 2011, for administrative secretary Kim Rouan, at the current salary of $30,000; and district nurse, John Hontula, at the current salary of $30,500; and a new five-year contract from Aug. 1 to July 31, 2013, for treasurer Laurena Rouan, at a current salary of $65,000. She will receive a 2 percent annual increase for 2009 through 2013.
The board is considering a proposal from a Cleveland firm to make $551,000 in energy-saving renovations at the high school. It will cost $200,000 to borrow the money.
Hanshaw said a special meeting will have to be set to discuss the proposal once the outcome of the May 5 election is known. The district has an 8.4-mill bond issue and a 1.6-mill levy on the ballot.
David Smith, business development manager of the Brewer-Garret Co. in Middleburg Heights, gave a slide-show presentation about proposed upgrades to lighting, the building automation, computer and alarm systems, changes to the way air is treated by heating or cooling in rooms that are not being used, and new exterior doors and windows.
The company has been in the high school building evaluating needed changes for the past several months, Hanshaw said.
A cost-effectiveness program for more modern and efficient replacements has been presented by the company under the newer version of Ohio House Bill 264, which encourages movement toward more energy-efficient renovation replacements in school buildings.
The Ohio School Facilities Commission would have to approve the project, and the district would be lined up with independent financing.
Cost projections show that the district would save $52,213 in operating costs per year, and its annual payment for the renovations would be $51,283 for 14.7 years, Smith said.