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In Brief . . .
Bath County School Board
. The board received an update
on the Bath County High School
renovations from Superintendent
Dr. David Smith. Board chairman
Eddie Ryder and co-chairman
Dreama Burns visited the high
school Tuesday, meeting with
general and subcontractors. The
school can be opened on Aug.
28 with full use of the entire
building; work will continue but
not interrupt instruction. The
final date of renovations was
given as Sept. 28. Smith reported
the testing of air quality in the
auditorium would take place
once the system is ensured there
are no more leaks into the area
and the roofing is completed.
The board was reminded the
auditorium's water problems
began before renovation and
were due to the location of
gutters and the building's
design. The air quality tests will
reveal whether the auditorium's
walls have mold inside and if
remediation is needed.
. Because of questions raised
about the 2008-09 salary scales,
business manager Justin Rider
was asked by the board to give
a brief overview of how the staff
salary steps and scales work. There
are 31 salary steps for all school
system staff, corresponding to
the number of years employed.
A first-year teacher, secretary,
aide, custodian or food service
worker begins at Step 1. If a
staff member is hired and has
11 years of experience, they are
hired at Step 11.
The confusion comes at the scales
between each step for each type
of school employee. For teachers,
each step - from one to 31 - the
yearly increase is always $535;
this amount is the same for
secretaries. The scale difference
for lab managers is $348; aides,
$321; custodians, $348; food
service workers, $214; and
11-month employees, $54. The
raise given to school employees
for 2008-09 is included in the
step amounts.
. The board voted to increase
the mileage reimbursement, for
those who use their own cars for
school business rather than the
system's vehicles, from 32 cents
per mile to 50 cents, effective July
15. Barbara Waldeck opposed
the increase.
. The board accepted the Virginia
School Board Association's policy
regarding charging fees and
recovering money for the loss
or damage to school property
in accordance with the Code
of Virginia. The section of the
policy the school board voted
on concerns fees and charges
permitted by law or regulation
and no school or employee may
levy a fee or charge on a student
without the approval of the
superintendent or his designee.
Any approved fee or charge shall
be reduced or waived for those
students unable to afford them.
The school board approved this
section so that principals could
include it in their 2008-09 school
year handbooks.
. Smith told the board the
mobile unit at Valley Elementary
School is in the process of being
moved back to Augusta County
and Augusta has assured
the administration the land
underneath the unit will be
returned to its natural state.
. In action following a closed
meeting, the board appointed the
following staff: Joyce Lewis, parttime
Millboro Elementary School
cafeteria worker; Diana Lindsay,
part-time Bath County High
School cafeteria worker; Sherrie
Morton, bus driver for Mountain
Grove route; Wade Ryder, vehicle
and substituted bus driver. The
board reappointed Twila May
as bus driver for the Cedar Creek
route.
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