While the students in the Salisbury School District were enjoying their long days of summer, sub-contractors and the maintenance department were busy gearing up for the upcoming school year.

During the operations committee meeting Sept. 7, William Brackett, director of maintenance, buildings and grounds, reported on the project updates for the new school year.

The improvements included a new scoreboard installation at the high school and asphalt repairs and line painting on the basketball court. Painting and asphalt repairs were also accomplished at the middle and elementary schools in the district.

Improvements to the kitchen at the middle school include the installation of a steamer unit and grease trap. After a modification to the grease trap, the district will realize a 10-year warranty on the improvement.

The science lab at the school underwent a face-lift with new countertops, backsplash, exhaust systems and the building of additional prep stations.

At the elementary levels, a new HVAC unit was installed at the Harry S Truman Elementary School and was in operation prior to the first day of classes. The final stage of the HVAC project will be to train the staff on the controls that operate the various functions of the unit. Training began Sept. 12 and after completed, the maintenance staff will have full control of the unit and be capable of troubleshooting issues through a computer system.

New sidewalks were installed on Gaskill Street in front of HST as well as in-between the parking lots on the property and repairs were made to the parking lot. New steamers and cookers were also installed at the school.

Western Salisbury Elementary School renovations involved complete remodels of the restrooms to match the improvements to the HST and Salisbury Middle School restrooms last year. The contractor used by the district did an “outstanding job on the restrooms,” Brackett said.

After the work was completed, towel bars were installed below the hand dryers. The towel bars are necessary per code requirements and allow visually impaired students to navigate through the restrooms safely without bumping into the dryers which are four inches in depth from the surface of the wall.

New playground equipment was also added to complete the improvements at the school, although according to Brackett, the tire swing remains the most popular item on the playground.

Asphalt and paving work was completed at the administration building and the sidewalks have been repaired.

To round out the improvements, teachers received new desks and chairs and the majority of the old furniture has been removed. Several pieces of the older furniture will be kept for emergency purposes.

Some minor items remain on the list of things to do; however, all major repairs and installations were completed in time for the new school year. Board members thanked Brackett for a job well done.

With the projects for the 2016-2017 school year in the record books, the school board has little time to rest on their laurels, as preparation for the budget for the next curricular year looms in the near future.

The majority of Pennsylvania school district budgets are based on the guidelines specific to the “Taxpayer Relief Act,” more commonly known as “ACT I,” published Sept. 1 of each year by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. This year, the initial publishing of the guidelines has been delayed in large part by the workings of the presidential election. Like Salisbury, school districts state-wide are awaiting the figures.

Salisbury Township Board Secretary Robert Bruchak noted that by the end of September, the PDE will notify each district of their “adjusted index” which will determine the districts aid ratio and also determine whether a school district will need to adjust their district’s real estate tax. The aid ratio is determined based upon several factors including wages and inflation.

Based upon the information at hand and assessed real estate values, Bruchak believes last year’s rate of 2.4 percent for the district “should not fluctuate a great deal over the next several years.”

An overview will be released in December.

The board has projected tentative dates for the various stages of adopting the budget with the preliminary budget presentation to occur Jan. 9, 2017 and an adoption by Feb. 8. The board will take into consideration any updates on the projections and new information prior to the proposed final budget May 1, 2017. The final vote on that stage of the budget will take place May 30, 2017. Adoption of the final budget will take place June 21, 2017. ACT I requires districts to have final budgets approved by June 30; therefore, there is some latitude on the proposed dates for the budget.

The district is examining and discussing several policies for approval for the current school year and the current meeting will be the first reading of the policies with a second reading and approval to be held at the board meeting in October.

Dr. Christopher Spedaliere, noted discussion and refinement of Policy 2.2.3 regarding weapons in the school district is ongoing.

Policy 2.2.7 concerns disciplining student with disabilities and how the district is to handle those situations. The district must comply with mandates issued by the “Individuals with Disabilities Act” and when a “manifestation of the disability” occurs the district can modify the student’s IEP along with providing the student additional positive behavior support.

Policy 2.2.7.1 coincides with the Policy 2.2.3 and determines the type of behavior support for the student.

Policy 4.4.5 is in regard to the booster club, educational foundations and parent organizations at the school. The policy dictates these activities fall under the direction of the school board and administration. Under the same policy, bingo has been added to the list of games that will no longer be able to be played by the students; however, parents will still be permitted to play. The policy also states money withdraws for a club are to be performed by an adult officer of the club with a second adult officer reviewing the transaction. Annual reports for the clubs are to be submitted to the director of student activities.

When the floor was opened for questions, several board members questioned whether bingo should be included in the policy and whether the policy applied to the PTA.

“Students are not permitted to sell or participate in games of chance like bingo, 50-50 raffles, lotteries, etc.,” Spedaliere explained.

Board member Susan Lea said, “Bingo games are big fundraisers for the schools as are Chinese auctions and 50-50 raffles.”

Board members said if the township solicitor determines it is not legally necessary, those games will be removed from the policy.

The next operations committee meeting will be held 7 p.m. Oct. 3.