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School Starts in County

By COREY BLUEMEL Staff Writer

School Board Prepares for Beginning of Year

Ross Huntington, Emery County School District Business Administrator, reported to the board that the state mandated advertising has been completed for the asbestos in the school district buildings. The asbestos management plan and maps of the locations is available for the public to view at each school site and also at the district office. At the times when flooring is replaced in each building, the hazardous material will be removed from each site.
Dave Gneiting, of the Utah School Board Association, presented the board with a package of ideas concerning ways to save money on workers compensation premiums. He stated that the premium that the district pays is based on experience rate (the number of incidents). Also taken into consideration is the severity and frequency of claims.
Gneiting stated that a possible starting point for the district would be to implement a safety policy. Employees and management must each be committed to make long term support of this policy. He suggested the formulation of a committee to design the policy. The committee would consist of one employee from each of the employee groups. He would work with them regularly to ensure that all facets are included.
A list of eight items for consideration for inclusion into the policy were reviewed. Gneiting stated a good policy would reduce the severity and frequency of workers compensation claims and thus reduce the amount of premiums charged to the district.
Gneiting also stated that the implementation of the online safety training for employees is progressing and he will be in the district next week to train the custodial staff concerning the online safety training.
Superintendent Kirk Sitterud informed the board that the district has a safety committee in place at the present time and the board may want to look at that group as a base for the committee to work with Gneiting. The board approved the formulation of this committee to create a safety policy.
The board went on to approve a new workers compensation policy which would allow an injured employee to use sick leave and vacation time to supplement the workers compensation. At the present, workers compensation pays two thirds of the employee’s salary to the employee in the event of a loss time injury. This new policy would allow employees the option of not suffering the financial loss that may accompany the physical injury.
Huntington also presented the district’s proposed new catastrophic sick leave policy. The board approved the policy that allows an employee to reserve five days of accrued sick leave, before applying for the extra sick days in the catastrophic sick leave plan. A committee of employees, two teaching staff, two classified and two administrators, will oversee the plan and the approval of granting the up to 120 days of extra leave. An appeals clause was inserted to be handled through the districts grievance procedure.
Huntington informed the board that following an administrator meeting on Aug. 17, the new policy for building rental will be available for review by the board. The fee structure will be finalized before it’s presentation to the board for approval.
The board awarded the bid for purchasing a new tractor for San Rafael Junior High School to Genco Mine Service. Of the bids opened, Genco’s was the lowest, with the tractor listed being the best suited for the schools use for snow removal and lawn maintenance.
Sitterud proposed Jeanette Orme to be hired as the Family and Consumer Science teacher at Green River High School. The board approved. The board also approved the recommendation for the coaching staffs at each school, with several slots still open at Green River. Sitterud reported that the fee for preschoolers would increase by $10, with a $5 discount for on time payment.
Ashlin White, an Emery County student, recently attended a FCCLA national conference where she won a silver medal for illustrated talk. Sitterud said this is an equivalent to second place in the nation. The board commended White on her achievement.
The next school board meeting will be held Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. at Emery High School.

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