Board of Education Meeting

The Moon Area Board of Education met August 10, 2015, with the president presiding. The board approved the July 20 minutes and the August financial reports, and approved the July bills. It approved meal-purchase contracts with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit for Pre-K Counts and Head Start/Pre-K classrooms, a service agreement with Pace, and the First Semester College in High School program with Robert Morris University. The board approved a five-year Finalsite website contract but tabled it pending a price comparison. It approved a stadium track resurfacing contract with FieldTurf USA, with the base bid to be selected August 24, and authorized the sale or disposal of outdated equipment, including 90 desks and chairs from Hyde.

The board approved Steele Schneider, Attorneys at Law, for litigation against the Moon Transportation Authority, a move that drew heated debate over whether the firm had gone through the RFP process and whether the district had misled the board about the advice of a consultant. A motion to delay the school opening by one week, to August 24, passed 5–4 after the board heard that cafeterias, gyms, and libraries at Allard and Brooks would not be ready. The board approved the agreement with the Moon Education Association, though an employee abstained, and authorized an RFP for driver's ed testing. It approved Policy 913.2 on commercial advertising and the Middle School Program of Studies.

The board appointed a hearing officer, Weiss Burkardt Kramer LLC, and approved numerous personnel actions, including retirements, leaves, substitutes, and new hires. It hired an employee as athletic director on a three-year contract, rejecting an amendment to shorten it to one year. The board also approved independent contract positions for medical, dental, and eye exams, plus gymnastics instructors. The meeting adjourned at 11:30 pm.