LIVERMORE FALLS — The RSU 73 board approved a three-year contract with the district’s 15 cafeteria workers this week.
They also agreed to a contract to purchase a new boiler for Spruce Mountain Middle School in Jay.
Superintendent Robert Wall said the staff contract calls for salary increases of 1 percent for 2014-15, 1.5 percent for 2015-16 and 2 percent for 2016-17.
Contracts still to be settled are for bus drivers/custodians, whose contract expires this month, and teachers, whose contract has been an ongoing issue since 2012.
Following a presentation by Siemens of Scarborough spokesman Paul Clieve, the board agreed purchase a propane gas boiler for the middle school for $176,627. Excavation work that will be needed to install it.
Clieve said he expects the boiler to be installed and the new chimney built before the next heating season.
Funds for the purchase were in the 2013-14 school budget. Heating costs are expected to be reduced by $30,000 to $35,000 a year over the oil-fired boiler.
Spruce Mountain Assistant Principal Lee Hixon reported on changes to the new student handbook that the board is expected to act on at the June 26 meeting. Changes include one valedictorian, one salutatorian, and one top 10 student list.
At this year’s graduation, two of each were identified because of the different requirements at the former Jay and Livermore Falls high schools, which merged to become Spruce Mountain High School in Jay.
Other changes call for specific amounts of time students will be prohibited from participating in sports or other extra-curricular activities if they cheat in their academic programs or if they are failing a core course required for graduation.
The board also approved using $21,223 from the district’s general fund to cover unpaid lunch bills from students during the 2013-14 school year. Wall said some students had bills as high as $300 or $400.
“In the past, we have taken people to small claims court and people have agreed to pay, but they didn’t. The next step would be arrest, and we don’t want that,” he said.
Livermore board member Tim Madden suggested that the district look into issuing 1099 tax forms for the owed amounts.
In other matters:
* The board agreed to a three-year contract with Archie’s Inc. of Mexico for trash disposal at a cost of $28,746 annually. Wall said the contract amount is the same as last year.
* Adult Education Director Eileen Miazga reported that 28 people graduated from the program last week. She said a college transition program for those wanting to attend college will begin Monday, June 16, and a summer academics program will begin Monday, July 7.
* Technology Director Craig Suttie advised the board and parents that several apps are currently circulating that could be dangerous to students because they identify where the child is located. He said the district is preventing them from getting into the laptops or iPads during the school day, but can’t keep them out at other times.
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