NORTH MANCHESTER - When Manchester Community Schools found out there would be a budget shortfall in the future if changes weren't made, hey decided to be proactive.
Business Manager Steve Shumaker worked on a budget plan and looked into ways to cut costs and save money, and the board and employees of the corporation cooperated with the cost-cutting measures.
That hard work has paid off, and the school corporation has cut nearly $1 million from its yearly budget.
"We got down to the operating level that we needed to," Shumaker said. "I'm confident with where we are."
Shumaker told the board Tuesday night at it regular meeting that he expected to save between $40,000 and $50,000 per year by making small changes like turning off computers overnight and adjusting the thermostat in school buildings by two degrees in both cooling and heating. In the nine months since the conservation efforts have been encouraged, the school corporation has saved more than $90,000 on utilities.
"So far there have been big reductions," Shumaker said, and thanked everyone in the corporation for their cooperation in the energy-saving efforts.
In other business, the board:
n Accepted the resignation of Diane Miller, food service cashier at Manchester Junior-Senior High School.
n Approved the hiring of the following people: Kim Robinson, food service cashier and MJSHS; Drew Wilson, boys varsity assistant basketball coach; Steve Erny, boys junior varsity basketball coach; Michael Neese, boys eighth grade basketball coach; Todd Volk, boys seventh grade basketball coach; Adam Packer and Aaron Olinger, boys volunteer high school assistant coaches; Logan Smith, boys volunteer high school coach; JT Hooks and Joe Smith, boys C-team basketball coaches; Janna Simcoe, Brit Rager and Heather Boggs, girls high school volunteer assistant coaches; Matt Webb, girls junior varsity coach; Bill McNeeley, eighth grade girls basketball coach; Sarah Purdy, girls C-team basketball coach; Christa Peden, girls seventh grade basketball coach; Denny Unger, junior high assistant musical director.
n Heard a presentation about the Student Assistance Program at the Bowen Center. The school has teamed up with the Bowen Center for the past eight years to offer two free sessions to each student each school year. The program has been successful and both the school and the Bowen Center are pleased with the results.
n Accepted the donation of a Kawai piano from an anonymous estate for the Manchester Junior-Senior High School Music Program.
n Learned that the copy machines the school has been using for the past several years have been donated to them by the company that owned them. When the school switched contractors for copy machines, the former company said they did not want to pick up the old ones and that the school could have them. The machines were declared as surplus equipment and will be sold.
