By Michael Rheinheimer
The Hamilton Southeastern Board of School Trustees met at 7 p.m. July 24. The next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 28 at HSE Central Office Board Room, 13485 Cumberland Rd. For more, visit hseschools.org.
What happened: The board approved Custodial Contracts, 5-1.
What it means: The school board’s contract with third-party custodial companies has been renewed for another year, as of Aug. 1. The new contracts include a pay increase for the companies. Three companies handle outsourcing of custodial positions for the district. Executive Management Services is responsible for filling roles for all elementary schools except for Durbin Elementary, Southeastern Elementary and Thorpe Creek Elementary. ABM services several intermediate schools. Fishers Junior High and Southeastern Elementary are serviced by Pristine. Janet Lemur, custodial supervisor for the district, reported that the companies have between a 20 to 40 percent turnover rate. She said the district, especially Fishers High School, is having difficulty filling custodial roles. Lemur defended the raises, saying the economic upturn has created difficulty filling custodial positions across the nation. Combined, the three companies have 88 full-time equivalent employees.
What happened: The board approved high school auditorium renovations, 6–0.
What it means: A contract between Nugent Electric and the school corporation for audio and electrical renovations to the auditoriums in Fishers High School and Southeastern High School has been established with a budget of $2,293,975. Facilities Director Harry Delks said only one bid was received. Nugent Electric was the successful bidder, which submitted an original bid of $2,719,460. It entered a second bid of $2,703,018. The second bid was factored after Nugent Electric said it could do the work while keeping some of the current lights. Both bids were above budget. The school board’s original budget was $2,339,000. Delks asked the consultant to meet with staff of both high schools. The teams worked for several weeks on ideas to reduce the bid by an additional $409,042, bringing the project back within budget.
“This has been a challenging project,” Delks said. “Unfortunately, we only received one bid. I think the reason behind that was, No. 1, the market is so busy, and this is a pretty specific type of work, too. It’s audio, video and light for auditoriums.”
What happened: The board approved policy revisions B02.08 Board Member Conflict of Interests, G02.05, Conflict of Interest and Nepotism, G02.07, Drug – Free Workplace, I05.04, Substance Abuse Education – Rescind, and J05.06/J05.0, Drug Prevention and Random Testing Program, 6–0.
What it means: The school board approved all five policy first readings as a single package. The policy revisions for B02.08 and G02.05 bring the school district policies into compliance with state law by updating wording. G02.07 revision provides an update in the law citation. I05.04 is being rescinded from school board policy, as it refers to a 2015 law which required drug-free school committees at each school. That law has since been repealed. J05.06/J05.07 refer to two policies which have been combined. This revision would combine J05.07 into J05.06 and remove J05.07 from policy. The school board’s policy states that all new or revised policies must have two readings. New or revised policy adoptions take place after second approval. This is the first reading for all five policy revisions, so they have simply been approved for a second reading. If they are approved after second reading, the policy revisions will be enacted.
