EL hopes to hook up gas by Feb. 14

BY PAT FARNELLI
Times-Shamrock Correspondent

The Elk Lake and Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center campuses are still without gas, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, according to Superintendent Ken Cuomo.

“The lines are already hooked up, and last Saturday, they were all purged,” Cuomo told the school board Wednesday, noting that the extremely cold weather and snowfalls have made the installation work difficult, but that the utility gas services should be up and running by Feb. 14.

At the previous Elk Lake school board meeting, Cuomo explained that there would be a two-weekend process involved: the first weekend would be spent hooking up the lines, and the second spent checking and purging the lines to remove impurities from the natural gas.

Resident Jeannie Jayne asked about the $15,000 penalty due from Leatherstocking Gas for not meeting the Dec. 31 deadline. Cuomo said that payment has not happened yet.

“A natural gas generator is also in place now, and it will be hooked up at the same time as the regular gas,” he said.

Board member Donica McKee said that she heard that the gas generator “had an issue getting here.”

“The generator came on Monday, when there was no school because of a snowstorm,” Cuomo said.

Board member Matt Curley said that he was made aware of the delivery at work. He said that the corner near the school campus had to be plowed so that the truck could deliver the generator.

“He had a whole tractor trailer full of generators, and he had to get them all delivered,” Curley said. “He was from Wisconsin, and said he was used to driving in this kind of mess.”

Medical insurance rates were set at $425 per month for a single faculty/staff member, and $975 for a family, Cuomo said, an increase of about $100 per month from last year.

Board president Anne Teel said that the school district recently had to pay $62,000 because of changes related to the affordable care act.

“We could have paid a nice teacher’s salary for that amount,” Teel said.

There have been several executive sessions for personnel matters recently, and another executive session occurred after the meeting switched from the SCCTC School Board meeting to the Elk Lake board meeting.

Cuomo noted that there were three students recently expelled for 180 days.

Jayne asked how the school plans to provide for education for these students.

Cuomo said that Elk Lake now has its own alternative education program based at the school district.

“We provide most of it online through Advanced Academics, although we also can place students with alternative schools such as Bethesda or PATH if the situation is warranted,” he said.

The elementary school’s re-roofing project, slated to be done two or three years ago, will be completed under a contract with Hayes Large Architects LLP.

The project is for the last section of roofing left to be done, and is estimated to cost between $382,000 and $482,000. Cuomo said that there is money remaining from previous bonds that the school has purchased which have leftover funds available, enough to cover more than $200,000 of the project costs.

Cuomo also noted that the district would not be going above the state mandated maximum millage increase for its 2015-16 budget.