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Board approves Parents as Teachers MOU, raises substitute pay and takes waste/recycling bids under advisement
Summary
Portage Township Schools trustees voted to approve a $44,000 MOU supporting Parents as Teachers, approved a package of substitute pay increases, and voted to take two waste/recycling bids under advisement for further review; all recorded votes were unanimous on the roll calls.
At a regular meeting, the Portage Township Schools board approved several business items after discussion and roll calls.
Parents as Teachers MOU: The board approved a memorandum of understanding to continue a partnership with the Parents as Teachers program (which provides Ready, Set, Kindergarten, preschool and home-visit supports). Administration said the district will use $44,000 from the education fund to cover remaining expenses for the program for the coming year. A motion to approve the MOU was moved and seconded and passed on roll call.
Substitute pay increases: The board approved a set of increases to substitute-staff pay intended to keep rates competitive and support staffing availability. Examples provided by administration included raising instructional-assistant substitute pay from $9.00 to $9.50 per hour, substitute instructional technology specialists from $11 to $14 per hour, substitute RNs from $20 to $25 per hour, and raising the certified teacher substitute daily rate from $120 to $130. Administration said the district monitors nearby rates and will publish the changes to help recruitment; trustees asked questions about recruitment impacts and orientation for substitutes before approving the change by roll call.
Waste and recycling bids: Administration opened two vendor bids for district waste and recycling services (Waste Management and Homewood Disposal). Because staff still needed to compare line-item coverage and determine the lowest responsible bidder, the board voted to take the bids under advisement and authorized further review rather than awarding a contract at the meeting.
Votes at a glance (recorded roll-call results): Superintendent's consent agenda — approved (recorded roll call: unanimous affirmative responses); Board consent agenda — approved (recorded roll call: unanimous affirmative responses); MOU with Parents as Teachers — approved (recorded roll call: unanimous affirmative responses); Substitute pay increases — approved (recorded roll call: unanimous affirmative responses); Motion to take waste/recycling bids under advisement — approved (recorded roll call: unanimous affirmative responses).
No individual trustee votes were recorded in debate beyond the roll-call confirmations; minutes show each roll call returned affirmative votes from all trustees present.
