Uniontown board to advertise for maintenance position
The Uniontown Area School Board plans to advertise for a maintenance employee with master-level experience in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) after failing to receive any qualified candidates already working in the Uniontown Area School District. At Monday’s work session, Dr. Charles Machesky, district superintendent, said no internal candidate with “real serious experience in HVAC” applied for position.
Board members discussed advertising for the position in two local newspapers this Sunday and Machesky said people interested in applying for the position may send a “letter of interest” to the central administration office.
The board created the position at the Oct. 19 board meeting.
Philip Holt, co-chairman of the board’s buildings and grounds committee, at the time said that the position could save the district money since it usually hires outside contractors to repair HVAC problems. The person also will work on the new system to be installed at the high school with the renovation/new construction projects, he said.
Holt did not attend Monday’s work session.
“I think Philip’s idea was with the new building and new refrigeration, we should have somebody who can maintain that on their own,” said Alan George, co-chairman of the board’s buildings and grounds committee.
The person hired for the post would be responsible for the district’s HVAC and refrigeration, according to Machesky.
The salary for the position will be advertised as negotiable, said Machesky, noting that the employee could be hired at a starting salary of $26,300. Pay for the position would increase the following years according to the contract, he said.
Meanwhile, the board plans to approve the purchase of security cameras at Lafayette, Ben Franklin and the high schools. The cameras will have the ability to capture nighttime activity, said Paul Bortz Sr., chairman of the board’s safety/security committee.
District officials sought bids for the equipment. Costs were not announced Monday night.
The board is also considering purchasing a central camera system for Central School that would require visitors to be buzzed in before entering the building. District employees would have cards that will be swiped to allow entry into the building, said Machesky.
The board will consider approving a school improvement plan for Lafayette Middle School.
Middle school Principal Joe Galie along with a team of teachers formed the plan, a state Department of Education requirement since the sixth- through eighth-grade school failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) after its special education subgroup did not meet state reading or math targets as measured by the 2008-09 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA).
The school gave parents the option of school choice this year and 26 students transferred to A.J. McMullen School in Markleysburg.
In other business, board President Ken Meadows, who serves on the Intermediate Unit (IU) 1 Board of Directors, said a feasibility study being done will look at the cost of expanding the IU’s campus and Colonial School, where alternative school programs are housed.
Meadows said these moves, if approved, will affect Uniontown’s budget since the IU receives funding from the school district.
Another project that will impact the district’s budget is the renovation or new construction of the Fayette County Area Vocational-Technical School.
Machesky said he does not believe there is enough support from local school officials to build a new vo-tech, which could cost more than $30 million.
Future debt, which the district would incur if it helped fund a renovation to the vo-tech, as well as current vo-tech-related spending, which business manager Sonya Over said topped $1.2 million last year and is expecting to increase, has caused Uniontown officials to consider starting the district’s own vo-tech program.
“I think it’s a fantastic idea,” said George, noting that a vo-tech located near the high school would allow students to receive their academics and vo-tech training at one location, resulting in a comprehensive program.
Laurel Highlands School District administration and board members also have spoken of housing a vo-tech program. Some school officials have said now may be the right time to make such a decision since both school districts are planning a renovation of their high schools.
The board is not expected to approve any motions related to the move at its regular meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday in the high school.