MOUNT CARMEL - Mount Carmel Area's $16 million general fund budget for next school year was given final approval Thursday by the district school board.
The budget was passed without a tax increase.
Board directors also agreed to a five-year contract with Superintendent Bernard Stellar, accepted the resignation of Greg Sacavage as interim junior high school principal and approved the first reading of a new technology policy that would allow students to use their own electronic devices for in-class instructional activities.
And it was announced that the district swimming pool has been fixed and is reopened, while the running track remains closed while it is being replaced.
Budget
The district's balanced general fund budget for 2013-14 totals $16,655,345.55, an increase of $585,293.35 from the 2012-13 budget.
An approximate $187,000 deficit was erased from the new budget when directors voted in February to use funding from a reserve account. Charles J. Mannello, district business consultant, said the reserve funding is specifically set aside to cover potential increases in retirement and insurance costs, both of which increased.
Real estate taxes will continue to be assessed on district residents of Northumberland County at 40.47 mills and 19.21 mills for those in Columbia County, meaning property owners pay $40.47 and $19.21, respectively, for each $1,000 of assessed value of their properties.
Contracts
Stellar was appointed to the superintendent position in September and earned $90,000 this school year.
The district school board will determine the raises he could receive over the length of his contract, either on a percentage basis or the average raise dictated by the education association contract, whichever is higher.
Terms of Stellar's contract calls for minimum 1 percent raises annually; up to 2 percent in years two and three and 3 percent in years four and five.
The Mount Carmel Area Education Association is currently operating on a contract that expired in 2012. The union and the district remain at a standstill on a new deal.
Stellar's appointment came one year after he assumed superintendent duties on an "acting" basis following the resignation of his predecessor, Cheryl Latorre. Prior to that, he was high school principal, and he remains the high school band director.
Resignation
Sacavage will remain the district athletic director, for which he earned $60,843 in 2011-12. He had been earning an additional $500 monthly since September 2011 when he was named interim principal in an administrative shake up after Latorre left.
Stellar said Sacavage, who submitted a resignation letter for the interim principal position on June 13, will continue to handle "some" duties until a replacement is found. The position will be advertised, he said.
Sacavage offered no comment.
Technology
The junior-senior high school will be fully Wi-Fi enabled at the start of next school year, and the Bring Your Own Technology policy still under consideration by the district school board could allow students to use their own electronic devices to log on to the district's wireless network.
Laptop computers, tablets like iPads, e-readers like Kindles and smart phones will be allowed, capitalizing on the devices multimedia capabilities. However, their use would be restricted, and the first reading of the policy approved Thursday calls for all Internet content to be filtered and access monitored.
The initiative is geared toward in-class instructional activities, and teacher permission may be necessary.
Students may be asked to sign a policy agreement with the district and may have to register their device. There are potential consequences if the policy is violated.
Terms of the policy remain tentative as the board must vote in favor twice more before they are finalized. Policy language could change ahead of anticipated adoption in August, Stellar said.
Stadium closed, pool reopened
Board directors said the Silver Bowl football stadium will remain closed while work continues on the replacement of the running track.
The old surface has been removed. The area was milled and new asphalt placed. It must sit two weeks before the new surface is installed.
The project is expected to be completed July 15.
Two change orders totaling $9,968 were approved for the project.
Nagle Athletic Surfaces, Liverpool, N.Y., was hired at an original cost of $163,226 to replace the running track. Funding comes from money left over from the stadium project bond issue.
Also, the high school swimming pool was repaired and is reopened.
It was closed approximately two months after sand got into the system and damaged filter tanks, according to district officials. The cost of repairs was not to exceed $15,000 per the terms of a board vote last month.