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Politics & Government

School District 304 Gets OK to Hire Safety Coordinator, Accounting Specialist, Mechanic

The positions are part of a reorganization, with new job descriptions created as other staff members retire.

School District 304 is creating several new positions as part of a reorganization designed to improve school safety and prevention programs, bus maintenance. accounting and early-childhood programs.

At last week's board meeting, the Geneva School Board voted unanimously to support the recommendations for several new or redefined positions, including a fulltime safety/security supervisor, early childhood coordinator, coordinator of business services and bus mechanic. The district also will hire a half-time student prevention coordinator.

Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Craig Collins presented the board with proposed changes and underlined that most of them were "re-purposing" existing jobs.

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In the case of the student prevention coordinator, the cost will be offset by ending the outsourcing of programs such as drug and alcohol testing, substance abuse education for parents and members of the community, and addiction counseling for families.

"In this period of fiscal austerity, every position must contribute to the overall educational mission of the district," Collins said.

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The net cost to the district is about $55,000, according to the chart provided with Collins' report.

The five positions are as follows:

1. Safety/Security Supervisor (1.0 FTE – Operations & Maintenance Fund) 

The Safety/Security Supervisor would continue to lead the security initiatives begun the past two and a half years to make District 304 a safer place for students, staff, and parents.

"In light of Newtown and other recent school shootings, we can never take school security for granted," Collins said.

Collins said the district would post this position by the end of the month and fill the position prior to the beginning of the 2013/2014 school year. The expected salary for this position would be between $50,000 and $60,000 with benefits commensurate with a 12-month position. 

2. Student Prevention Coordinator (.50 FTE – Education Fund) 

"In partnership with our parents, we have an obligation to shield our students when necessary from destructive influences and empower our students when appropriate to make healthy and informed life choices," Collins said.

The district's contract with Williams & Associates is ending, so the district hopes to "continue and expand prevention efforts to include a wider array of adolescent mental health issues including suicide, depression, violence, and bullying," Collins said.

The salary for this position would be between $25,000 and $30,000 with benefits commensurate with a .50 FTE position. The cost of the position would be offset by the $23,000 the district was spending with Williams & Associates. 

3. Early Childhood Coordinator (1.0 FTE – Education Fund) 

The early childhood coordinator will be responsible for leading the educational program at the pre-school level including curriculum development, hiring of all staff, certified and non-certified staff evaluations, professional development, and program coordination with the Park District.

For the last six years, the daily operations of the District 304 preschool have been managed by a student assistance coordinator (a certified staff member) who also teaches or serves as a school psychologist. 

Salary is in the $70,000 to $80,000 range and would be offset substantially by the current salary of the student assistance coordinator/psychologist, resulting in a small net cost to the district.

4. Coordinator of Business Services (1.0 FTE – Education Fund) 

With the July retirement of the district's accounting specialist, "we believe it is an appropriate time to redefine this support staff position into a 12-month administrative position in order to add more management depth to our business services department and to allow (Assistant Superintendent Donna) Oberg the time to do the fiscal analysis and long-term projections required by the board," Collins wrote.

The position would be in the $90,000 to $95,000 range (including benefits) and would be offset substantially by the compensation package paid to the accounting specialist.

"We estimate the net cost to the District would be in the $14,000 to $16,000 range," Collins said.

5. Bus Mechanic (1.0 FTE – Transportation Fund) 

The district employs one bus mechanic to service 55 large school buses (71 passenger capacity) and nine smaller school buses (35 passenger capacity).

"When we kept our busses for only one school year, this staffing level was adequate. Now that we keep our school busses for two years, there is additional maintenance required such as brake inspections and oil changes as well as minor warranty repairs," Collins said.

The district spent more than $3,000 in labor alone last year sending various vehicles outside the district for repairs. Officials are hoping to hire an intern, apprentice or entry level mechanic to assist our current mechanic by next August. The position would pay in the range of $18 to $20 an hour.

To offset this cost, the district will eliminate an existing bus mechanic support position. The net cost of this second mechanic position is expected to be approximately $16,500 per year. 

Cost Summary Reorganization 2013/14 

Projected Cost 

Position Offset 

Net Cost 

Fund 

Safety/Security Supervisor 

$72,500

 $60,000

 $12,500

 O & M 

 

Prevention Coordinator 

$40,000

 $23,000 

 $17,000 

Education

 

Early Childhood Coordinator 

$75,000

 $70,000 

 $5,000 

Education

 

Coord. of Business Services 

$92,500

 $77,000

 $15,500

 Education

 

Bus Mechanic 

$33,000

 $16,500

 $16,500

 Trans. 

 

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