BY JEFFREY HORVATH
Times Shamrock Correspondent

The Elk Lake School Board approved plans last Wednesday (July 23) for a temporary propane installation at the school.

By January 2015, Elk Lake plans to be running completely on natural gas.

By transitioning from oil to gas, Elk Lake hopes to drastically cut down on energy costs while, at the same time, utilizing the energy source that is literally right in their backyard.

The temporary propane installation will power the school until it is ready to make the switch to natural gas in January.

The school is converting from oil boilers to a new energy system, which will be fueled by an 18,000 gallon propane tank throughout the fall. The cost of the propane tank and instillation was already factored into the original energy savings project.

The board also approved payment of $18,358 for upgrades that were made to the welding shop. The money for the upgrades will be paid out of the fund balance of the bond that was taken out for the building project in the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center.

Superintendent Ken Cuomo announced that the budget for the Title I program is down about $14,000 from last year. Elk Lake has cut two Title I staff positions in an effort to realign the budget without while using fewer district funds.

The board voted unanimously to approve Doreen Smeck for the position of choral director at $40,000, Kim Guiton for the position of Transportation Director/Energy Manager at $20 per hour for up to 32 hours per week, and Craig Sprout for the position of boys’ varsity soccer coach at $2,948.

During the SCCTC Board Meeting Tammi Mowry was approved for the 12-month, full-time position of financial aid director at a salary of $49,000.

James Booth, who the board approved for a special education position last month, regretfully reported that he has taken another job.

It was also announced that Elk Lake field hockey coach Heidi Woodruff would be resigning.

Two board members volunteered to be voting delegates at the annual Pennsylvania School Board Association conference in Hershey on October 21. Delegates will vote on the PSBA’s proposed legislative platform.
Board member Jack Sible will represent Elk Lake at the conference, while board member Anne Teel will represent the SCCTC.

Elk Lake paid $906,364.55 in bills. The SCCTC paid $219,384.15 in bills.