Martha’s Vineyard school committees wrap up the year

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In separate meetings on Monday night the All-Island School Committee (AISC) and the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) school committee wrapped up the 2012-2013 school year.

The AISC voted to ratify a new contract agreement with Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools custodians, superintendent of schools James Weiss told The Times. The committee also voted to approve Mr. Weiss’s recommendations for salary increases for non-union and administrator salaries in his office, from a pool of money that is approximately 3 percent of their combined salaries.

In a departure from past years, Mr. Weiss requested that the assistant superintendent, director of student support services, and school business administrator receive increases of 5 percent in fiscal year 2014 (FY14) and another 5 percent in FY15, to make their salaries commensurate with comparable positions on the Cape and in the Boston area.

In other business, the AISC voted to accept the resignation of assistant superintendent Laurie Halt, who is moving to California where her husband, West Tisbury School principal Michael Halt, has accepted a job as the principal at San Clemente High School.

At the MVRHS school committee meeting, accounts manager Mark Friedman said he expects the year’s expenses to come in close to budget, with the possible exception of additional costs for special education residential placements. He also anticipates a shortfall of about $60,000 in revenues, due to a loss of reimbursements from the state for some students that decided to attend the Charter School.

The school committee voted to approve a new five-year capital plan for FY 2014-2018. With the plan approved, Mr. Friedman told The Times that the school committee reviewed and approved the high school’s requirements for appropriations of excess and deficiency funds for specific projects it contains. Those include $140,500 for a building security upgrade, $50,000 for exterior shingling, $50,000 for Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB), $20,000 for safety upgrades to portable sports bleachers, $25,000 for corrective maintenance on the superintendent’s office building, and $16,000 to realign the high school’s office space.

The committee also voted to approve Mr. Weiss’s recommendations for salary increases for high school administrator and non-union employees of two to three percent, based on their evaluations, from a pool of money based on three percent of their combined salaries.

In other business, the high school committee accepted the resignation of Career and Technology Department chairman Jeff Rothwell, effective at the end of August, and the retirement of custodian Donald “Buck” BenDavid.