North Putnam board organizes for 2024

ROACHDALE ­— Convening a week ahead of usual, the North Putnam School Board addressed its annual organization on Thursday.

Taking over from Joanie Knapp, Amber Greene was voted as the board’s president for 2024. Meanwhile, David McCollough was tapped as its vice president as Heather Lawson was retained as secretary. Greene, Lawson and Knapp were also approved as its representatives for collective bargaining.

While Business Manager Tanya Pearson was approved as the corporation’s treasurer, Candace Wireman will take over from Amanda Kessler as its deputy treasurer.

The board also approved members’ yearly compensation at $2,000. This is the legal maximum stipulated by the state. Supt. Dustin LeMay provided that additional stipends could be approved it the board were to hold many executive sessions or other similar meetings.

Taylor, Chadd, Minnette, Schneider & Clutter was also retained as the corporation’s legal counsel. Attorney Tyler Nichols noted that the firm’s hourly fee increased from $225 last year to $235 to account for inflation.

“This is kind of cool for me,” eight-year-member Greene commented as she took over the meeting. She was voted as its president when she came onto the board in 2016, she adding that this is to be her last year to serve.

“I really hope to do the role justice, and really bring us all together as a board,” Greene said. “I just want to focus on doing what’s best for our students.”

In other business:

• On a recommendation from Asst. Supt. Rodney Simpson, the board approved using diesel fuel from newly merged Co-Alliance. The year’s cost is $2.72, which Simpson said will be a 27-cent savings from last year.

• The board approved a three-year contract with Ryan Fireprotection. The corporation’s current fire protection contract with Shambaugh & Son is up, and Simpson said the new contract will see savings over $86,000 for the year.

“They’ve (Ryan) pointed out some things already without even being paid,” LeMay noted. “It’s a huge win.”

• With LeMay commenting that it was a “big deal,” the board approved a recommendation for architectural design services to be by Williams Architects. Meanwhile, it rejected bids for service agreements, it being stated that they were considered unresponsive.

The service agreements and the recommendation were related to a planned multi-million-dollar project geared toward facility improvements at North Putnam High School and HVAC repairs at Roachdale Elementary and North Putnam Middle School.

There was no personnel report which the board approved.

The board also recessed from the regular meeting and conducted a review of the corporation’s finances stemming from 2023.

Pearson noted that North Putnam’s average daily membership (ADM), which determines per-student funding from the state, has trended upward since Covid. Otherwise, she related that its fund balances are “doing really well.”

“When you hear that term ‘fiscal cliff,’ because of ESSER, we really don’t have that,” LeMay added to how said funding has not been relied on to pay salaries. “We know how much we have left; we’re looking to use that as strategically as we can.”

The entire board and Administrative Assistant April Lambermont joined LeMay, Simpson, Pearson and Nichols for the meeting.

The next regular meeting of the North Putnam School Board is set for Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. in the large group instruction room at North Putnam High School.