By JUDITH O. ETZEL
Contributing writer
The Oil City School Board is considering outsourcing its maintenance work to a private contractor.
As those deliberations continue, the district’s work crew is urging the board to “reconsider” any proposal that would eliminate four maintenance positions.
“I ask you to reconsider getting rid of our maintenance department,” said Rick Downing, a longtime school district employee and member of the four-man maintenance department, at a school board meeting Monday.
The maintenance workers’ contract will end June 30, said Downing.
Emphasizing the maintenance crew’s top priority is “the safety of our kids, our staff,” Downing told the board, “I don’t see anywhere you’ll save any money …. We know our buildings and we do our job.”
Emphasizing that the district’s maintenance crew “keeps our buildings running on a daily basis,” Downing said, “This is kinda a low blow to us. Call us and we’ll sit down and talk.”
District Superintendent Pat Gavin told Downing that the subject will be “discussed as a board” and that “we’ll get back to you.”
After the meeting, Gavin said, “we are in the process of exploring contracting out the work. We looked at the numbers and they reflect some savings,” he said.
The last time the Oil City district outsourced jobs was in 2014 when custodial and cafeteria workers lost their jobs to a private contractor.
The 41 staff members were represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and no new contract agreement was reached. Both custodial and cafeteria services were contracted out to a private company.
A ‘shout out’
Gavin told the board that the Oil City girls and boys basketball teams are in the District 10 playoffs.
“Our congratulations to them,” he said.
— Carol Weaver, a business office secretary, will retire July 5.
— The board accepted the resignation of Steven Hensler, head golf coach.
— Haylee Lansberry was hired as a child-specific aide at the high school.
— Stacey Andres and Ernest Beach were approved as bus and van drivers for the current school year.
— The board approved an agreement with the Keystone Smiles Community Learning Center to provide alternative education programming at $40 per student per day. There are eight Oil City students enrolled in the program.
