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C-W School Board begins new year  Share
Dale Hickox, bus mechanic for the Casey-Westfield School District, shared transportation issues with school board members Monday night as they toured the bus garage and looked over several buses in the district's fleet, prior to the 7 p.m. board meeting at Monroe School. Hickox said the older activity vans make many trips every day as does Bus 3, the wheelchair bus. ''It has three wheelchairs that on it, and we don't have much of a sub for it,'' Hickox said. ''It's busy all day, going 210-220 miles a day. It goes to Mattoon every day plus runs three school routes in the middle of the day.'' Hickox said he has compiled a list of buses noting who drives which bus and how many miles each bus is driven in an effort to keep a newer fleet. Superintendent of Schools Dee Scott said they are looking at several options for replacement of some of the older vehicles. Travis Bushue of Bushue Human Resources, Inc. met with the board to discuss how his company could help lower the school district's worker's compensation experience rate.
At the June board meeting, several board members had expressed concern over the increase in the experience factor on Workmen's Compensation which had risen from .88 to 1.01, which in turn, causes an increase in premiums. Former Superintendent Bob Ehlke had said at that time that he would ask the school's insurance consultant to come to a board meeting to speak to the members. ''When an employee gets injured, we get notified,'' said Bushue. ''We follow the claim through to closure. The longer a claim sits out, the more it costs you. We look at keeping your experience rate as low as possible. You pay for our services through savings to the district.'' Bushue also assured the board his company would help ease the work load of the school's financial secretary. Bushue's annual fee is $6,500 but would be pro-rated to approximately $3,500 based on the consulting fee. They already work with 35-45 school districts including Cumberland and Marshall, he said. Several board members still questioned why the school's insurance carrier wouldn't offer these same services and asked Superintendent Scott to talk with other district superintendents. The board voted to accept a bid of $91,120 from G & S Asphalt for a 400 meter 8-lane all-weather track. Rock is being hauled in now, and Scott said the asphalt work should be completed no later than October. ''No track meets are scheduled for next spring, so if we have our asphalt down, we'll be in good shape,'' she said. The board went on to discuss the next step, which will be a rubberized surface. Following executive session, the Casey-Westfield School Board confirmed employment for Haley Morgan Honselman in the cross-categorical position at Roosevelt and Nicole Underwood for elementary physical education. The board also approved the resignations of Jeannette Huisinga, Monroe kindergarten, and Brandon Miller, high school physical education. The resignation of high school Spanish teacher Linda Smith was accepted for the end of the 2012-2013 school year. Kevin Anderson will move from elementary PE to high school PE and also assume the Junior Varsity Boys Basketball position. Huisinaga's position in kindergarten will not be filled as student numbers are down. Several support staff positions were also filled. Alethea Kuhn will replace Brad Carroll as aid at Roosevelt; Mary Freeman will replace Arlene Babbs as high school cook, and Wayne Stallings was hired as high school custodian. Extra-curricular positions filled included Max Kirbach as junior high baseball coach and Sean McHenry as assistant; Lindsey Robinson will assist in junior high girls' softball in place of Heather Austin; and the assistant band director stipend of 8% was approved and will be split between James Standerfer and Shelby Cummins. In other business, the board: o Scheduled the district auction for 10 a.m. Sept. 19. o Approved the district plan for nut allergies. o Heard administrative and maintenance reports. o Approved matching funds for the dance team in the amount of $959.25 for new warmups and uniforms. o Approved CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc. as third party administrator for 403b plan compliance. Scott said only 7 employees are participating and although it's a nice benefit for employees, she questioned whether it should be continued for another year if participation does not increase, given the operating cost of $1,200. Sharon Durham is a staff reporter for the Casey Reporter.
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