NEW CASTLE —
The Mohawk school district will spend $113,000 to upgrade security at its two buildings.
The district will purchase nine digital cameras for school buses, 24 additional security cameras and a new intercom system for the elementary building and an upgraded security system at building doors.
The board also approved hiring a second armed security guard. The board currently contracts with OSA Global of Pittsburgh to provide a guard at the high school. The new guard will be posted in the elementary school.
These improvements come in the wake of the Dec. 14 shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that resulted in the deaths of 20 students and six adults.
Janet Crum, business manager and board secretary, said May 13 has been set for the first reading of the district’s proposed 2013-14 budget. The board is expected to adopt the budget June 17.
The board also adopted a resolution stating it will limit any tax increase to the state index. This index is the percentage a school district can increase the property tax without voter approval.
“We don’t expect to exceed the allowable index,” Crum said. “If we raise taxes, we do not expect to go above the 2.4 percent of current millage, which is 13.09, or raise property tax above 0.31 of a mill.”
She noted the district has not raised taxes since the 2008-09 school year.
The board also:
•Agreed to sell two properties from its repository. They are 0.182 of an acre in Mahoning Township for $750 and 0.335 of an acre in Bessemer for $500.
•Added the following people to the daily substitute list: Anthony Gomez, Spanish teacher; Heidi Lindsay and Victoria Wiggins, cafeteria workers; Glenn Leslie and Charles McKee, bus drivers; and Victoria Wiggins, custodian.
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