Schools to make $45K in repairs
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer

MILLSTONE — There are two significant increases in the school district's Comprehensive Maintenance Plan (CMP), according to Business Administrator Bernard Biesaida.

Biesaida explained at the Nov. 10 Board of Education meeting that the CMP is a threeyear plan for the upkeep and maintenance of school facilities. The plan outlines previous year expenditures, current budget figures and projections for the next three-year cycle and serves as a checklist for budgeting enough maintenance money, according to Biesaida.

The two significant increases in this cycle's maintenance costs are related to a fire alarm panel at the primary school and the septic system at the elementary school, according to Biesaida.

The fire alarm panel must be repaired at an approximate cost of $30,000, according to the report. Biesaida said the school district must budget for the cost in the next budget cycle.

One of the septic pumps at the elementary school will have to be replaced. The district has yet to get a cost estimate for the project, but has budgeted $15,000 for the replacement in the CMP, Biesaida said.

"It's still functional but we don't know how long it will last," he said.

Biesaida said that other CMP costs have not increased significantly.

In other business, Superintendent of Schools Mary Anne Donahue reported that the school district has had an influx of people requesting substitute teacher positions. She said in the past, the district struggled to find substitutes but now interviews one or two potential candidates each week.

Donahue said the increase in the number of people applying for substitute positions may reflect the poor economy. A lot of the applicants are Millstone residents, she said, noting that she is happy to see people living in town taking interest in education and willing to work with the school district.

The process for becoming a substitute teacher takes about 60 days, and those hired undergo fingerprinting and other checks, Donahue said.