By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green Board of Education continued steps Tuesday evening to become a “destination district.”
Those measures included starting the process to get state funding to help meet the district’s elementary building needs, ratifying a collective bargaining agreement with 92 school employees, and hearing an update on the new high school construction project.
Superintendent Ted Haselman repeated his wrap-up of the high school project, saying the new building is “on budget and on time. More to come next month.”
In addition to progress on the building, the new crosswalk on West Poe Road to the high school has been installed, as well as a turn lane into the school for traffic from the east.
The planning process has now shifted to the needs of the district’s elementary students, Haselman explained.
Last month, detailed tours were conducted of the district’s three elementary buildings. Focus groups have been meeting to identify the needs, and next week those focus groups will be expanded to include some community members.
“They are gathering all this information,” Haselman said of these preliminary planning efforts.
In preparation for meeting elementary needs, the board voted Tuesday evening in favor of a resolution to participate in the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission Expedited Local Partnership Program (ELPP.)
Haselman said this action now will help guarantee a state’s share of the building projects for whenever the elementary plans are finalized. He and Treasurer Matt Feasel predicted a similar share of the project as the state funding for the new high school – at 17%.
The board also approved a collective bargaining agreement with the Ohio Association of Public School Employees for the next three years.
The agreement calls for estimated 3% raises each year for the next three years, Feasel said.
The district also made steps to be more competitive with wages for bus drivers. For years, Haselman said, BG Schools has lost drivers to neighboring districts that pay more.
The raises should allow BG to do a better job of attracting and maintaining its crew of drivers.
“We’re very proud of that,” Haselman said, talking about the importance of bus drivers for students. “They are often the first person they see in the morning and the last person they see in the afternoon.”
The starting pay for a bus driver has moved from $18.17 an hour to $22.57 an hour. The new pay chart also continues to increase, rather than freezing after six years on the job.
“We’re trying to promote longevity,” Feasel said.
The district still has two openings for bus drivers to start the new year. “We anticipate having them filled,” with the new pay ranges, Haselman said.
In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, the board voted to hire the following new teachers:
- Ellie Boyle for high school social studies.
- Ian Carter for high school math.
- Jillian Hupp for Crim Elementary kindergarten.
The board also approved the shifting of Toby Snow from director of transportation to director of operations. Robert Young was approved for the position of assistant director of building and grounds maintenance. And the district will soon be hiring an assistant transportation director. The goal, Haselman said, is to have a succession plan in place for whenever Snow is ready to retire.
Also at the meeting, the board:
- Approved breakfast and lunch prices for students for the new school year. There were no changes, with elementary lunches remaining at $3.10, middle school lunches at $3.35, and high school lunches at $3.60.
- Accepted donations of $500 for the summer breakfast program at Crim Elementary, and $250 for the high school cheer program.
