Elk Lake points to Meteor football

BY PAT FARNELLI

The Elk Lake School Board Thursday night approved a cooperative sponsorship of a football team withMontroseAreaSchool Districtbeginning with the fall 2012 season.

The cooperative sponsorship will be voted on at the next Montrose school board meeting, on Aug. 8 atChoconutElementary School, and the districts’ approvals will then be forwarded to the Pennsylvania Interscolastic Athletic Association for final approval.

Superintendent William Bush also noted thatElkLakestudents attained AYP status in both the high school and elementary.

Bush said that the benchmarks thatPennsylvaniaschools are expected to attain are being raised.

“We are in a good position to meet next year’s benchmarks, but it will be difficult,” he said.

In other business, it was announced that the expansion project for the Susquehanna County Career andTechnologyCenteris well under way, and the board approved the payment of several contractors.

Mar-Paul, the general contractor, was paid $684,522.80, in that company’s fourth installment payment; in June, the Mar-Paul company was paid $255,852. Leber & Bonham, the electrical contractors, were paid a third payment this month of $30,276.17; they received a payment of $75,305.55 in June. Master Mechanical Corp. were paid $61,750 in July, $8,550 in June. Bognet Inc. was paid $18,000; and Geo-Science Engineering was paid 9,020.48 for inspection services.

During Thursday’s meeting, bids were opened for two projects. For the elementary gym floor, the board approved a contract with Jack Devin, the low bidder at $12,450.

The pavilion driveway project was also discussed, and Broome Bituminous was the low bidder, at $119,840, for the paving of a new road around the pavilion from the elementary school parking lot to the Cabot Gas & Oil access road, which will be used as an exit for vehicles dropping off elementary students. The traffic pattern in that parking lot has been a safety concern for some time.

The board approved the Title 1 program budget for the 2011-2012 school year. The elementary teacher salaries approved totaled $152,000, down from $190,000 in 2011.

Bush said that the program will have one less teacher on board this year. There is an additional aide on the Title 1 staff this year.

The health insurance budgeted for the program did increase dramatically from $12,000 to $44,000, but that was because last year the salaries were covered, but not the benefits, and the insurance was paid by stimulus and general funds. “It isn’t so much an increase as a juggling of funds in the budget,” he explained.

Ultracon was paid in full after completing the removal of an underground fuel storage tank on the property.

The school board approved keeping school lunch prices the same.

Pamela Staats reported that the Intermediate Unit summer program has been going very well.

A long list of substitutes for professional, clerical, staff, secretarial, nurses, and drivers was approved. About 90 percent of those on the list are already current subs, but the list is updated annually, then added to throughout the year.

Jamie Kitner, an ESU graduate, was hired for anRTIposition at the step one Bachelors level at $37,500. Catherine Licenti was hired for a special education position at $37,500.

Uriel Agredo was hired as a girls varsity soccer coach, and Cambria Ely was hired as a girls volleyball assistant coach.