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Connellsville Area School Directors take out third loan for 2015-16 school year

By Natalie Bruzda nbruzda@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read

Connellsville Area School Directors approved the district’s third tax anticipation note Wednesday night, in the form of a line of credit, for $10 million.

Acting Superintendent Phil Martell said the loan is necessary because of the state budget impasse, which has continued since June 30. According to Martell, the district is waiting to receive between $13 million and $16 million from the state. That figure includes 2014-15 Title I money the district has not yet received, he said.

Martell said he has been informed the state may release the money owed to the district in the next 10 days; however, he said he did not want to take a gamble.

“We had to take the initiative in case they don’t release the money,” Martell said.

The TAN is through Somerset Trust at an interest rate of 3.08 percent. The settlement date is Friday, Dec. 4, with a maturity date of Tuesday, June 28, 2016.

In other financial matters, the board authorized the display and advertisement of the 2016-17 preliminary general fund budget as well as referendum exceptions.

Martell said this is a necessary step for the board to apply for exceptions with the state Department of Education for the possibility of raising taxes above the Act 1 Index.

Also Wednesday, the board took action on a number of personnel matters.

Directors named Martell the acting superintendent of schools; Cherie Routzahn the acting business manager; and Bruce Jaynes, the acting director of the Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center, effective immediately.

Martell, Routzahn and Jaynes will return to their previous positions if their new positions are filled.

School Director Fran Mongell said the board is going to begin a search to fill the positions.

In an unrelated matter, school directors approved the Ford Business invoice for technician services at a cost of $12,000.

Mongell said the district has utilized the Ford Business staff for more than 1,200 hours of work to help the district clean up a cyber attack.

“I hope this is the last of it,” he said. “This is very excessive for the amount of work that should have been done.”

Director Paul Harshman, head of the technology committee, said Ford Business is the process of wrapping up their work, but believes there will be another invoice to be approved at the January meeting.

Martell said the invoices were not budgeted, but is researching the possibility of recouping some of the money through insurance claims.

Turning to other matters, the board congratulated John Hamman and Frank Dean for their work in obtaining a grant in the amount of $5,000 from the Community Foundation of Fayette County through their partnership with Chevron.

The grant will be used to provide training for students at the CACTC to use a new soldering program.

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