By Alixandria Wells-Good
Contributing writer
MECHANICSBURG – The Mechanicsburg School Board of Education met on Monday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. at Mechanicsburg Schools.
Superintendent Dr. Danielle Prohaska said the 2024 organization meeting and January 2024 regular board meeting will need to be rescheduled. They will be scheduled for the week of Jan. 8, but a date was not settled on.
She went on to share that as of that night, the unofficial levy results were 786 for and 826 against. She went on to discuss the need for a citizens for schools committee that will be required to be run by someone not employed by the school. She said they can and will apply for the levy to be on the March ballot.
Prohaska went on to say that the 2024-2025 school calendars will be presented for approval at the December meeting.
Pam Weening-Earp and Corey Mays of the technology department then presented an update to the board. They shared a list of ongoing projects that they anticipate will be completed soon. This included finalizing access controls to the building, open door notifications, bells and paging issues in some rooms and sound upgrades in the gyms.
Mays shared that he is holding once a month, 30-minute sessions after school for teachers to learn more about the technology the department can offer them, and he created a “technology menu” to help teachers be aware of technology that is available to them through the department. Mays stated that a few of the projects he is currently working on in classrooms is sixth grade digital citizenship and fifth grade robot coding.
Recommendations from the treasurer, Scott Maruniak, that were passed included a motion authorizing Meta Solutions, acting jointly as a member of the Ohio School Consortium (“consortium”), to issue a request for proposal for the purchase of competitive retail natural gas service from the lowest and best bidder submitted to consortium and authorizing the board to purchase competitive retail natural gas service from such bidder, a motion to approve a resolution Waiving Competitive Bidding based on Urgent Necessity and Authorizing a Contract with Waibel Energy Systems. Inc., for the Chiller Replacement Project and approved the Nutritional Standards Annual Report.
The treasurer also recommended for approval a motion to approve the low bid of Cardinal Bus Sales & Service and to approve the purchase of one conventional vision gasoline 78-passenger school bus in the amount of $115,394, and a motion to approve a resolution of necessity for the renewal of an Emergency Tax Levy ($189,000).
Two donations were accepted at the meeting – a donation of $3,408 from Mary Margaret Kerr for the 7th grade lab class and a donation of $225 in memory of “Chomp” Hunter from various people.
Various supplemental, non-teaching and supplemental contracts were approved by the board. Six long-term absences varying from 6 to 12 weeks were also approved.
The next board of education meeting will be held on Monday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m.
Reach the writer at [email protected]
