The Gillingham Charter School Board of Trustees on Thursday approved the school’s 2016-17 budget.
It’s a spending plan made up of $3,450,752 in revenue and $3,392,042 in expenditures, Rachel Bensinger, Gillingham’s director of organizational development, said at the board’s meeting at the schoolhouse Thursday night.
Only four of the seven trustees were present: Marsha Chwastiak, board president; Sharon Klinger, board vice president; and trustees Mindy Heppe and Susan Tallman.
Absent were Lisa Halteman, board secretary, and trustees Annette Stoudt and Dan Kurtz.
The salaries for administrators will be approved at next month’s meeting, Bensinger said.
Last summer, for the 2015-16 school year, Bensinger received a salary of $60,000, and Nicolle Hutchinson, Gillingham’s director of education/CEO, received $82,750.
Gillingham, the first charter school in Schuylkill County, is still dealing with its rechartering process. In April and May, a series of public hearings to determine the future of the charter school were held at the Pottsville Area School District.
The public still has time to submit comments on Gillingham to the hearing officer, Marc S. Fisher, Allentown.
“They have until the end of the day Friday, June 24,” Fisher said when called for comment Thursday.
Those comments can be sent to Fisher by email at mfisher@fast.net or by mail to 2610 Walbert Ave. No. 2, Allentown, PA 18104.
So far, Fisher said, he’s received “several,” but he didn’t count them.
“I can’t even give you an estimate,” he said.
He was not sure when his report to the Pottsville Area School District will be complete.
“I don’t know. I can’t comment on that,” Fisher said.
Once Pottsville Area receives Fisher’s report, it will review it, then vote once again on Gillingham’s charter application.
In matters concerning the hearings, Gillingham’s board Thursday paid bills to the legal firm that represented the charter school.
Gillingham employed attorneys from Latsha Davis & McKenna, Mechanicsburg, for help with the rechartering process. Attorney Christine Elizabeth Reilly received $200 per hour and attorney Mark G. Morford received $235 per hour, Bensinger said in March.
On Thursday, the board approved a bill of $75,792 for their services in April and a bill of $50,025.36 for their services in May.
The board considered approving five-year lease extensions for three buildings it utilizes: the schoolhouse at 915 Howard Ave., its administration building at 912 Howard Ave., and the former St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, 321 Howard Ave.
But Chwastiak had a concern: “Do our leases have in there a provision that we’re not going to be liable in the event we’re not rechartered?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Hutchinson said.
“Not that I could see,” Bensinger said.
Chwastiak requested the documents be reviewed by the charter school’s attorneys and tabled until next month’s meeting.
Other actions the board took at its meeting Thursday included:
• Approved Hoffman Insurance Consultants as a representative for Gillingham to locate insurance quotes.
• Approved Progressive Pediatric Therapy contracts for school counseling services; speech and language therapy services; and occupational therapy services. Each contract was on a per diem basis at $72 per hour, not to exceed $5,000 a month without board approval.
• Approved Singapore Math curricular program at $13,474.78.
• Approved elementary math curricular support proposal from Suzanne Bazak for the 2016-17 school year.
• Hired Samantha Roy as a full-time student life coordinator for the 2016-17 school year at a salary of $30,000.
• Accepted the resignation of Eric Ziegmont as schoolhouse secretary. In March 2015, the board hired Ziegmont to the 12-month, full-time post at a salary of $27,000.
• Hired Roseanne Heckman as schoolhouse secretary at $22,000.