MECHANICSBURG – Mechanicsburg Exempted Village Schools Superintendent Danielle Prohaska is getting a raise, though it won’t kick in until mid-2017.
The Mechanicsburg school board approved a new five-year contract for Prohaska at its Monday board meeting. The contract will run Aug. 1, 2017, to July 31, 2022. Prohaska’s new salary will be $96,000 annually, up from her current salary of $91,575, Treasurer Scott Maruniak said.
The new contract does not build in raises each year, but the board can make adjustments to the salary amounts as necessary, he said.
Prohaska’s last contract was a three-year contract, set to expire July 31, 2017. Ohio law allows districts to renegotiate the next contract within 18 months of its expiration, Maruniak said. The board decided to do that with Prohaska’s contract.
The board approved an amendment to the tuition reimbursement and annuity clauses of the superintendent’s contract to make them consistent with the rest of the staff contracts. Maruniak said the prior contract used a template from one at North Union Local Schools, where Maruniak is also treasurer, and it didn’t match what the rest of Mechanicsburg employees received.
The school board approved multi-phase technology upgrades for multimedia in the gym and commons areas. Maruniak said that since the building was constructed, there have been problems with the projector and microphone systems in the stage area and cafeteria area. The upgrades would improve the situation and make it more user-friendly. The project is phased to reduce the impact to the budget. Total cost is estimated at $26,656.29, with phase 1 costing $9,985, phase 2 costing $7,992.78, and phase 3 costing $8,678.51. Phase 1 would begin this summer.
The board approved the purchase of 340 Chromebook laptops and 340 Chrome management licenses for the 2016-17 school year, not to exceed $88,000. Maruniak said this will give incoming sixth graders Chromebooks to use, extending the district’s 1-to-1 device program from sixth grade to 10th grade. The grades that already have Chromebooks keep using them throughout their school career.
District officials discussed potential media center improvements. Maruniak said the district is looking at work that needs to be done in that area, such as replacing carpet and furniture. The district does not have estimates yet on how much that work could cost, and it likely would not authorize work to be done this summer. The project may also be phased, he said.
The district is working through selecting an architect for projects. Maruniak said the district would have an “architect of record” for projects such as designing a sports complex or fixing parking issues. The district must send out requests for proposal before it decides which architectural firm to use. Fees would be decided on a per-project basis.
