This summer proved to be a very busy one for Springfield Schools’ maintenance department. At the September 14 school board study session, Dustin Hamilton, director of facilities and maintenance, credited his staff for completing a large amount of work in a short timeframe with fewer people to assist. “This past summer we did more work than ever before with less staff than ever,” he said, adding that a large portion of the summer was spent on moving teachers into and out of Holland Intermediate The former pre-kindergarten through grade five building now houses only fourth and fifth graders.
The reconfiguration meant relocating teachers through grade three and their room supplies to one of the other three elementary buildings– Crissey, Dorr or Holloway. Additionally, maintenance moved fourth and fifth grade staff and supplies from elementary buildings to Holland. “We had 60 days to complete the move of 100 classrooms by 20 people,” he explained.
Mr. Hamilton noted the planning process began last year with an inventory of supplies and equipment to move.
“There was quite a lot,” he added.
To illustrate the point, he displayed photos of hallways brimming with boxes and supplies. “For awhile the hallways were filled.”
The issue at this juncture is an excess of equipment. “There is a lot of extra furniture, and we are trying to find a place for it. There is very little storage space,” he pointed out.
In addition to the building reconfiguration, his department handled a number of maintenance issues, particularly plumbing.
Plumbing in the high school science labs is old and has had issues, plus the accompanying lab tables are in disrepair.
Mr. Hamilton said they patched the plumbing for now and will redo the plumbing when replacement lab tables arrive. “They are 16 weeks out,” and he is hopeful the tables will arrive prior to winter break with installation during the school closure.
While some supplies are slow to come in, others are not, creating an even greater issue with limited storage capacity.
Storage for the district’s new building on Spring Meadows Drive “came in early, and we were not expecting it,” he said.
Inflation also has reared its head, and “we can’t gain ground on the work.”
Mr. Hamilton said the price for roofing has risen from $12 to $20 per square foot “and that is if you can get the materials and staff to do the job.”
Cleaning supplies also increased 15 to 20 percent. The cost increases have impacted his budget, he said, and “ultimately limit how much we can do.”
Despite the challenges, Mr. Hamilton is pleased with the accomplishments of district staff over the summer. “It’s remarkable how much we got done in a short period of time.”
Personnel
The school board took action on several personnel matters for 2022-23.
The board:
•Issued a one-year certified contract to Julie Bick, academic interventionist at Holland Intermediate.
They also awarded one-year classified contracts to Lanova Cunningham, 2 hour Dorr recess monitor; Kelly Santus, 6 hour SHS food service personnel, and Amanda Watts and Beverly Williams, 3 hour SMS food service personnel.
•Approved casual labor contracts to Kristina White and Timothy Lewallen.
•Authorized pupil activity permits for Jeffery Altman, SHS wrestling coach; Noah Badenhop, SHS football assistant co-coach; Arthur Battle, SHS girls basketball coach; Dorianne Cox, SHS tennis assistant coach; Tyler Haughawout and Jamie Hesselbein, SHS track and field cocoaches; Mark Malinowski, SHS eighth grade basketball coach; Jessica Savage, SHS cross country coach; David Screptock, SHS weight room; Michael Urban, SHS boys golf assistant coach junior varsity, and David Whitmire, SMS athletic director.
•Accepted the resignation of Crystal Williams, central enrollment coordinator, effective September 27.
•Issued a stipend to Mark Davidson, SHS director/producer of radio operations.
•Employed student workers Morgan Amick, Madelyn Eckhart, Hannah Guercio and Reed Schwieterman.
•Awarded substitute teaching contracts to Julie Bick, Cynthia (Cindy) Creech, Eleanor Kosek, Korrin Kreuz, Julianne Lowry, Jordan Pitcock and Kathy Zeitler. They also hired Jennifer Leasure as a substitute for food service.
Other Business
In other business, the board of education:
•Appointed Ken Musch as the delegate to the 2022 OSBA annual business meeting and Rachel Geiger as the alternate.
•Approved the purchase of a public address system for the high school at a cost of $12,415; the expenditure of $12,013.98 to Severin Intermediate Holdings for Powerschool, and a payment of $25,574 to Promedica Central Physicians Group for school nurses.
•Authorized service agreements with JLJ Vision Outreach Inc., for SHS and SMS at a cost per building of $28,300 to be paid with Title I funding.
They also approved a service agreement with Boundless with the contracted amount reflecting a decrease of $5,559, explained Ryan Lockwood, treasurer.
•Set the 2022-23 substitute bus driver field trip rate at $16 per hour.
•Approved job descriptions for SHS assistant athletic director; SHS associate athletic director, sports information director; career tech student organization chapter advisor; building leadership team member; SHS head coach; SHS assistant coach; color guard/winter guard director; culture and climate building leader; digital integration support; e-sports head coach, and multi-tiered systems of support chair.
•Accepted donations of school supplies from Culvers; $250 to SMS to fund school spirit shirts; First Baptist $388 for Holloway Elementary lunch program, and Scott Stigall of State Farm, 75 filled drawstring bags for SMS.
•Approved three requests to attend professional development days.
The board of education’s next meeting will be at 4:15 p.m., Wednesday, September 28, at the administration building, 6900 Hall Street, Holland, and is open to the public.
