USD 410 school board approves pay raises, Internet policies years ago
STAR-JOURNAL STAFF
During its regular monthly meeting Monday night, the USD 410 board of education approved pay increases for all district classified staff, school principals, and Superintendent Gordon Mohn.
The board voted unanimously to grant a 3.5 percent salary increase to the classified staff — this includes custodians, bus drivers, secretaries, and food service workers.
The pay increases follow the board's recent acceptance of the master teacher contract, which grants a four-percent increase in the teacher budget.
Classified staff will also receive an increase in the amount the district pays toward insurance. That benefit will go up from $278 per person to $300. This increase, combined with the salary increase, equals four percent.
The board also approved a salary increase of 3.4 percent for the district's four principals: Pat Call, elementary school; Evan Yoder, middle school; Dale Honeck, high school; and Max Heinrichs, assistant high school principal.
Each will receive at least $2,500 more dollars next year in salary. They will also have their insurance benefits increased, to equal four percent.
After approving the increases, board president Doug Weinbrenner made a motion that the board raise the salary of Superintendent Mohn by 3.4 percent.
Council member Brent Barkman questioned the move, wondering if Mohn's three-year contract kept his salary from changing.
After a few minutes of discussion, the board went ahead and approved the motion, giving Mohn the increase.
Also at Monday's meeting, the board approved official Internet use policies for the district.
USD 410 uses three separate policies: one for elementary students (as required by law), one for middle and high school students, and one for district employees.
Each policy prohibits students and employees from accessing obscene material, "hacking" into the network, or participating in illegal activities. Students are also prohibited from visiting chat rooms or accessing Web e-mail such as MSN Hotmail.
During enrollment at the beginning of the school year, both students and parents much each sign the form. At that time, the student receives a login name and password that lets him or her access the system.
However, the policies do not outline what the punishment is for violating these rules. The principals deal with violations on an individual basis, Honeck and Yoder said.
"We deliberately didn't make it black and white," Mohn said.
At the high school, a student who's caught using Web e-mail usually has his Internet access revoked for a week. If that student tries to access obscene or pornographic sites, his parents are notified and he must serve detention, Honeck said.
But the district tries to circumvent problems by keeping an eye on students' use in the labs.
"This expects staff to supervise students," Mohn said.
And if a student stumbles onto an off-limits site by accident, the teachers expect the students to them about it.
"If you get in a bad site, tell a teacher right away," Yoder said.
In other BOE business:
— Carla Harmon was hired as the new district treasurer. She will replace Joyce Medley, who is retiring in August. Harmony previously worked in the district's technology department.
— The board approved new curriculum standards for the district's language arts programs. Joyce Loewen, district curriculum coordinator, presented the document.
The board also approved curriculum purchases for science and technology materials. The district will spend $56,835.58 to buy science textbooks, lab manuals, and other equipment.
The district also approved spending $21,996.38 in technology materials — much of it in software and software upgrades for tech center modules.
— Evan Yoder said that the middle school is still seeking a cheerleading sponsor. If one isn't found, there will be no middle school cheerleading team for the 2002-03 school year.
