Community Center Accepts Bids on Repairs; Council Approves $7,238 for Christmas Banners

by JoBeth Wampler
Staff Reporter
   Repairs needed at the Grundy Community Center may cost as much as $20,000, Community Center Manager Donna Ratliff told Town Council members last Tuesday.
    Preparing for the town's influx of students in the fall, the Grundy Community Center began its usual summer clean-up only to discover cracks in the ridge capping on the edges of the roof. The damaged ridge capping, which has allowed rainwater to soak into the walls, would be replaced with a rubberized capping. Metal sheeting on the roof would be replaced, as well, along with doors in the parking garage.
    Ratliff said she received a quote from Prater Construction on the repairs in the amount of $20,000.
   Council requested she seek two other quotes for the repairs. She said she will report back to council within the next two months.
    So far, she said the floors and exterior of the building have been pressure washed and the floors have been stained and east-end stairwell repainted.
    "I am very proud of my workers," she said.
    Also at council's regular meeting, it will look a lot more like Christmas in the town during the holiday season.
     Council appropriated $7,238 for decorative holiday banners that will adorn 50 of the town's utility poles.

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Change in Teacher Aide Rule Is Explained
Fair Labor Standards Act Impacts Ability of Employees to Fill Dual Roles

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
     In response to questions about a policy change, an explanation of why school bus drivers can longer double up as teacher aides was given last week during a meeting of the Buchanan County School Board.
    The change in past practice came about due to federal regulations regarding the payment of overtime, according to school officials and School Board Attorney Tom Scott, who explained the change to parents present at the meeting to ask about it.
     The parents were there to request that the bus driver-aide who had worked with their son in the past be allowed to continue to do so.
     Garden Chairman Steve Hamro III told fellow board members he had received several calls over the weekend from concerned residents asking why the practice of using school bus drivers as aides could not continue.
     Superintendent Tommy P. Justus noted that the Fair Labor Standards Act stipulates a 40-hour work week and any time over 40 hours for an hourly employee, he said results in the requirement that the employer pay overtime.
     "That doesn't include teachers or professional staff," Justus explained, noting those posts are salaried, as opposed to hourly. "If a classified employee exceeds 40 hours, then we are subject to pay them time and a half."
     Justus noted several school divisions not adhering to the rule in other states have been audited and required to pay out the monies now deemed to be due.
     Justus and Administrative Assistant Joyce Presley said in figuring time, the central office considers all bus drivers to have put in six hours which in turn makes them eligible for the fringe benefits package offered by the school system.
     Because of the hourly time assigned to the bus driver post, those same employees could work no more than two more hours per day at another school system job in order for the school system to be in compliance with the regulations.
     "We're not trying to pick on bus driver-aides, but it's something we've been advised if we don't watch, it could cost the school division a lot of money that's not budgeted," Justus said.

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Parent Asks for Change in Method Used To Determine Superintendent's Honor Roll
'Governor's School Students Should Not Be Penalized'

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
   A change in the way the superintendent's honor roll is calculated for students taking governor's school classes was suggested last Monday by a parent attending a meeting of the Buchanan County School Board.
    Susan Raines, who also wrote a letter to school board members on the topic, told board members it seemed unfair for students working hard in a governor's school class to miss out on the superintendent's honor roll designation merely because the definition of an "A" for that distinction is a 94 or above.
    In governor's school classes, she said, an "A" is defined as a 90 or above.
    At Monday's meeting, she told school board members she had spoken with Superintendent Tommy P. Justus and Director of Instruction Pat Fletcher about the matter and she indicated they would look at the policy this month and talk with the governor's school administrators to determine the best way to address the concern Raines raised.
    "When kids work hard in governor's school, you hate for them to miss out on the superintendent's honor roll, Raines said. "It is recognition of hard work.
    In her letter to the board, Raines said she was not questioning the governor's school classes or program, adding "it has proven to be an outstanding asset, allowing high school students to get college credit and have insight to what higher education will be and to have first hand experience with topics that might interest them without the inconvenience."
     Raines noted it is usually the most scholastically able students who are enrolled and doing well in the classes.
     "The issue that needs to be addressed is the reality that these bright students, actually some of the most scholastically talented, are being 'punished' for taking the higher education challenge and performing with excellence," Raines wrote.
      She noted the classes are weighted, but that the weight does not come into play until the end of the semester.

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