SMETHPORT — A representative of the company that provides preventive maintenance for the heating and cooling for the Smethport Area School District’s two schools spoke to the school board on Monday about the guaranteed agreement.
Under the current three-year contract that ends in April, Mazza Mechanical Services of Olean, N.Y., provides periodic preventive maintenance and computerized records on 165 pieces of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment in order to prolong the life of the machines and cut the down time for repairs, according to Leggie DeRose.
Following the meeting, Maintenance Supervisor Greg Rounsville told The Era the equipment includes such devices as the boiler system and rooftop ventilation units.
“While much of the school’s equipment is old and even obsolete, we’ve come a long way and have things pretty well under control now since our company has resource people to handle it,” DeRose noted.
Superintendent Dr. Charles Leasure and elementary and secondary principals Larry Rondinelli and Robert Miller said complaints they receive about uneven heating and cooling now are “minimal.”
Business Manager Sue Jordan said that knowing the company’s costs “up front” makes it easier for preparing the district’s annual budget.
DeRose said there would be no fee increase in a new three-year contract, meaning the costs would remain unchanged for six consecutive years.
The directors received an update on the services covered under the present contract and will consider renewing the agreement at their March meeting.
In another vote, the directors tabled until March consideration of the 2016-17 Seneca Highlands Intermediate Unit 9 general operating budget after learning the IU9 directors must OK this spending plan first.
In January, the IU9 board looked at the first draft of the budget that amounts to $1,259,043 and includes expenditures for administration, curriculum, human resources, instructional materials, management and pupil personnel.
The directors also approved a contract with IU9 for the Regional Wide Area Network and Internet Consortium Services through June 30, 2018.
Explaining the need for the agreement, Kevin Kolivoski, the district’s technology coordinator, said, “This will allow us to increase our bandwidth to handle the increasing number of the schools’ devices on the Internet and web-based services.”
In personnel matters, Angela Lapp was hired as a long-term substitute in the elementary school for the remainder of this school year.
The board adopted the 2016-17 school calendar. Teacher Professional Days are slated for Aug. 19 and 22-23, while Aug. 24 is the opening day for students. Graduation is set for June 2, 2017.
In his report to the board, Leasure noted this is day 222 without a complete state budget, and Gov. Tom Wolf is planning to seek an additional $90 million in educational funding in his new budget, which he will present to the Legislature.
Thursday of this week will be a half-day for students since the student council-sponsored canned food drive that was conducted in both buildings and officially ended last Friday, has exceeded its goal of 7,000 items to be donated to the Christian Community Services food pantry in Smethport. Miller said the latest count stood at more than 7,821, and more are still being donated.
