TROY — A moment of silence began the Troy Board of Education meeting Monday, Aug. 8.
The board remembered Lawrence “Larry” Savage, who passed away on July 28 at the age of 67. Savage began working for the district in September 2020.
Treasurer Jeffrey Price gave the financial report, “we have received our first income tax settlement for the fiscal year in July. It has increased by $581,000 plus when compared to July of 2021.”
Price also provided an update on the installation of the HVAC units at the Junior High which has been delayed again.
“This issue is control boxes. So, they’re waiting on another supplier for that component and cannot manufacture our units until those are in hand. It is an industry wide issue,” said Price.
Two rented units will be installed in the meantime. These units will exchange enough air to allow for class to be held in the buildings. The district expects the units to be installed before the start of the school year.
“But right now, we are sitting at about $27,000 in additional cost,” said Price. He also noted these delays were anticipated, “we were ready to order immediately after board approval to try to avoid this business back in March. When we ordered they said, ‘10 weeks’”
Donations to the district totaling $13,312.53 were accepted and thanks were expressed. A total of $7,411.91 came from grants applied for by teachers and provided by the Troy Foundation for various activities throughout the year.
“I think we also need to say something about Kona Ice. They’re on here quite frequently and they have been very, very generous,” said Board President Sue Borchers.
Also approved were changes to the bus schedule including the shuttles that will go back and forth from Kyle and Forest. Bus routes and times are available to through the parent portal online.
“Our transportation directors work closely with our bus drivers to identify routes that can be consolidated. So, I think there are three fewer [stops] than last year,” said Superintendent Chris Piper.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the district and the Troy City Support Staff Association was agreed to. The MOU provides for a $4 increase to driver base pay rate, a 20 cent increase to base pay rate increase to all other salary scales, reclassifies the study hall monitor position(s) to be educational aides, increases the step cap for hiring new drivers, and creates a new hire bonus and referral.
The MOU was approved by a vote of 4-0 however sentiments were expressed against the way in which it was conducted.
“I am really not a fan of these outside negotiation changes with benefits like this when it’s not just the issue at hand. I understand, you know, that there is more to it than the bus drivers, but I don’t want this to become a new standard. It is important to take care of this in the negotiations. I am all supportive of bus drivers and we want to take care of that issue,” said Board member Levi Fox.
“I think we all agree with that,” said Piper.
Board member Doug Trostle was absent from Monday’s meeting.
The next Troy Board of Education meeting will take place on Sept. 12 at 5:30 p.m. in the Troy Junior High School.
