During an hour-long executive session Wednesday night, Pottsville Area school board discussed the development of a new security force inside its schools and a policy to manage it, according to board solicitor Richard A. Thornburg.
But at the regular August meeting which followed at the Howard S. Fernsler Academic Center, the board only took action to set the salary rate for the yet to be filled part-time positions, $18 per hour.
The program won't be in place for the first day of school, which is Monday, according to Superintendent Jeffrey S. Zwiebel.
"This is a work in progress. We want to have guidelines for these security people as to what kind of force they can use and in what kind of situations," Thornburg said.
At the board's workshop Aug. 14, Zwiebel said the district will be hiring off-duty police officers to bolster existing security measures at each of its school buildings. Pottsville Area did something similar in the past, in the late '80s or early '90s, however, there is no policy or system in place to manage such a force, he said.
According to the agenda for Wednesday's meeting, the board anticipated hiring a list of part-time school security officers and setting their salaries at an hourly rate of $18 per hour. This was an action item in the "Superintendent's Report."
The board did not release a list of the candidates for the part-time security positions.
"Tonight, we just approved the rate," Zwiebel said.
The first reading of a "Use of Force Policy" was also on the agenda under the Solicitor's Report. But it didn't take place.
"It's an incomplete policy on what levels of force we can use in security and discipline situations," Thornburg said.
The district doesn't have any similar policies, according to Thornburg.
In other matters at Wednesday's meeting, the board held the second readings for more than 30 updated policies. Among them is "Policy 800 Administrative Regulation 2 - Litigation Hold."
It states: "When the district receives notice that the district is involved in litigation as a party to a lawsuit, the district is issued a subpoena by a party to a lawsuit in which it is not a party, or an investigation concerning the district has commenced of which the district has knowledge, the district will immediately take steps to ensure that any records and data that could be related to the ongoing litigation/investigation are preserved from deletion or destruction."
The board also approved the breakfast and lunch prices for the 2013-14 school year, which will remain the same as the prices for the 2012-13 school year, according to Stephen C. Curran, the district's business manager.
The breakfast prices are: elementary student breakfast, $1.40; secondary student breakfast, $1.45; adult breakfast, $2.25; extra milk, 60 cents; and reduced priced breakfast, 30 cents.
The lunch prices are: elementary student lunch, $2; secondary student lunch, $2.10; adult lunch, $3.25; extra milk, 60 cents; and reduced price lunch, 40 cents.
As of Wednesday, the 2013-14 student enrollment in each of the district's schools was: John S. Clarke Elementary, 981; D.H.H. Lengel Middle School, 833; and Pottsville Area High School, 1,057. The total enrollment as of Wednesday was 2,871, according to the Superintendent's Report.