6/21/2012 - South Side Leader
     

SPRINGFIELD — After some searching, Springfield Local Schools officials have found new office space for its administrative staff.

District officials said they have been looking for new office space for more than one year. The new office space is needed because the current administrative building, which was built in 1977, is scheduled for demolition to make way for the construction of the new school for students in seventh through 12th grades.

The options for new offices included leasing new space or renovating space in an existing school building to create offices for the administrative staff, according to Superintendent Bill Stauffer.

Stauffer said another option was offered to them recently.

At the June 19 meeting, the Board of Education approved a real estate purchase agreement with Maranatha Bible Church for the purchase of a 5,000-square-foot building on about 1.72 acres of land located at 2410 Massillon Road for a cost of $300,000.

Treasurer Chris Adams said the deal involves a $50,000 down payment and $250,000 paid out over 60 months to reduce the financial impact to the district, to come from a current permanent improvement levy.

“This is within our means,” said Board President Cindy Collins. “We are cautious about what we are spending.”

Stauffer said district officials discovered in their search for new space that other properties they looked at would have “cost us much more.”

Board member Bobby Dinkins said renovating space in one of the other school buildings would cost “twice as much.”

Board member Neal Hess said district officials had hoped to establish a new home in Lakemore.

“But this was a better decision for us,” he said.

Stauffer said some renovation work in the new building is needed before they can take over the space, but the administrative staff is expected to move into the new building sometime in early January. Board meetings then will take place at the new offices.

In other business, the board approved an amended contract for Stauffer, effective Aug. 1. The contract includes a salary increase of 1.5 percent each year for three years beginning Aug. 1, $5,000 continuity pay on Aug. 1 and a longevity payment of $5,000 if he stays until the end of his contract, which is July 31, 2015, and if the district meets certain test scores.

The board also approved a contract with Meals Plus for point-of-sale software for the district’s food service program. District officials explained the new program will allow parents to place funds into a food account and give students a code to use when paying for meals. The program also will allow parents to track what their children are eating.

Adams said the program will make students on reduced lunches “invisible” to other students and should increase bought lunches.

Also at the meeting, the board approved a resolution to support the Summit County Land Reutilization Corporation and the application for Moving Ohio Forward grant funds. Adams said the district includes the second highest rate of delinquent property owners, and demolishing blighted property in the area will stop the decline in values of area homes.

District officials also announced at the meeting that a public auction for the sale of Lakemore Elementary School, located on Wilson Street, will take place July 10 at 10 a.m. The building is currently leased from the district by the S.U.P.E.R. Learning Center. For details, contact district Business Manager Dan Laskos at 330-798-1111.

The board also:

• approved the Interdistrict Open Enrollment Guideline, which accepts students from outside the district as long as there is classroom space;

• approved a new fee schedule of $900 tuition and $20 snack fees per semester for typically developing peers in the preschool program;

• approved a contract with Connecting Point to provide 22.5 days of computer assistance between July 1 and June 30, 2013; and

• recognized retirees Robin Chidester, Robert Haas, Catherine Jenrette, Pamela Love, Janice Mauldin, Sheryl Merrow, Marlene Raker, Donna Schrock, Rebecca Uber and Linda Whited.

The next board meeting will take place July 17 at 6 p.m. at Spring Hill Junior High, 660 Lessig Ave.

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