BY STACI WILSON
The Montrose Area School District experienced a computer realm “Titanic-level disaster” Feb. 20 when two of its servers failed causing a substantial network outage, District IT Director Craig Owens reported at the Monday, March 12 school board work session.
Owens commended his staff and vendors for their response to the incident. Within 48 hours, he said, the network was fully operational.
A few months ago, Owens reminded board members, the district invested about $27,000 in a back-up appliance which allowed for recovery of the data. “Money well spent,” he said.
If the board had not made that investment, Owens said, the entire system would have had to have been rebuilt.
Owens said he is still waiting to hear back from the technical support company as to why the system failed.
“We may just have had two drives go bad,” he said.
Now, said the IT director, the system is built better than it was before and could withstand the loss of eight drives.
Business Director Michelle Lusk reported that she had met with FEMA regarding the application for the fence replacement along Choconut Creek damaged in the September flooding.
Lusk said the claim is complete and the school should receive reimbursement for the $3900 chain-link fencing sometime after May.
TheChoconutValley,Lathrop St.and High School principals all spoke about PSSA testing happening in the schools this week and next as well as upcoming events in the schools.
In the business meeting, the board approved the first draft of the proposed 2012-13 school calendar.
Superintendent Michael Ognosky said the current draft has teachers returning to school on Wednesday, Aug. 22, and five in-service days will be held prior to the students reporting to school on Aug. 29.
Three of those in-service days will be used to introduce teachers to the Common Core curriculum. Instruction will be provided by the Intermediate Unit.
Board member Pamela Staats asked how staff members would be able to make up the training if they were absent during the training.
Ognosky said the district teacher’s contract states that staff cannot use personal time in the first five days of the school year unless permission is given by the superintendent.
Staats said the Core Curriculum training was “intense with changes in the way we do business and deliver instruction.”
The board also approved the 2012-13 Northeaster Educational Intermediate Unit 19 general operating budget of $3,250,000. The estimated Montrose district share of that is $29,371.71.
The resignation of Head Boys’ Basketball Coach Todd Smith was accepted, with regret, effective at the end of the winter sports’ season.
Michael Zuba was appointed as the Junior High Softball Coach for the upcoming season.
Employment for Christine Maxey, personal care aide, and Kimberly Ellis, autistic instructional aide, was approved, retroactive to March 5.
The board accepted, with regret, the retirement, resignation of Lathrop St. Librarian Natalie Hawley, effective July 31.
The retirement, resignation ofChoconutValleycustodian Gary Arbosheski, effective June 30, was also accepted with regret.
The next regular Montrose Area School Board meeting will be held Monday, April 9,7 p.m., in the Junior-Senior High School Community Learning Center.
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