Sep 16, 2004 By Christine Haines 3 min read

CALIFORNIA – The California Area School Board Wednesday voted down a motion to create a clerical support position for the district office, noting that a similar position had been eliminated from the budget in May. The board was split 5-4 against the motion to create the 6 hour/day, 220-day position at a rate of $7 per hour. Dr. Tim Marks, the district superintendent, noted that the eliminated position had been full-time with benefits, while the new position would not have benefits. Marks said the cost of the position as listed would be less than had been budgeted for it and that the assistant would help with a variety of tasks, including the preparation of reports tied to various funding programs.

Directors Terri Doman, Cindy Dunlevy, George Safin, Donna Tyrpin and John Digon voted against the job creation, with directors Etta Kokoska, Barry Niccolai, Tom Russell and John Bayer voting in favor of it. The board will discuss the issue at a committee-of-the-whole meeting on Oct. 11.

Several of the dissenting board members questioned why the district office operations have not yet been reviewed by a state Department of Education efficiency expert as previously requested by the board. They noted that it appears as if several of the central office job descriptions overlap.

The board also split on a vote to award a contract for $13,897 to PCS Revenue Control Systems for a point of sale system for the cafeteria, with the funds coming out of the technology budget. When questioned by Digon as to why the money wasn’t coming out of the cafeteria fund, Marks said the cafeteria did not have the money for the system.

Directors Digon, Doman, Dunlevy, Safin and Tyrpin voted against the contract, while directors Bayer, Kokoska, Niccolai and Russell voted for it.

Barry Hurlbut, a bus driver in the district, told the board that Blainesburg Bible Church, where he attends, will be holding a blood drive Oct. 11 on behalf of the school district. Hurlbut noted that the Central Blood Bank offers a scholarship competition to school districts that organize three on-campus blood drives and one off-campus blood drive each year. The church blood drive will count as the district’s off-campus event. It will be held at the church social hall from 1-6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 11.

Hurlbut said Central Blood Bank guidelines call for donors to bring identification, be at least 17 years old, in good health and to have not had any tattoos or body piercing done within the past year, among other criteria. Hurlbut said the donation process takes about an hour from start to finish. Student volunteers are being sought to hand out refreshments to donors after school hours.