Clarksburg School Committee Considers Lowering Paid Time Off Payout Threshold
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The School Committee will review its paid time off payout policy and potentially lower the minimum service requirement for employees to collect a payout upon leaving.
The conversation began at an Oct. 1 meeting, where the committee requested that a recently retired employee receive his full payout even though he served 16 years rather than meeting the current 20-year threshold.
"I think 20 years is a lot for people," School Committee member Cindy Brule said. "I think we need a number that is more realistic."
Assistant Superintendent Tara Barnes noted that this is another instance where Clarksburg's municipal policy differs from the school's. Most municipal employees in Clarksburg can collect a payout after 10 years of service.
The employee in question was Mike Peters, a recently retired custodian who sought to cash in on 87 sick days and three personal days.
"If he had taken those days over the 16 years, it would have caused disruption," School Committee member Dan Haskins said after supporting the payout.
In Principal Kimberly Rougeau's report, she shared that the school year has started smoothly and that staff have completed several professional development sessions.
Rougeau added that the school is essentially fully staffed. She welcomed new physical education teacher Heather Gray as well as Pat Wood, the new Special Education and 504 Coordinator. She noted that Gray is also a speech-language pathologist who can assist with the school's caseload, adding that both hires have "hit the ground running."
Barnes praised the district's ongoing recruitment efforts.
"We continue to find people that really want to come work here," Barnes said. "... We continue to find really high-quality people who are willing [to] split their time and their spaces."
In her financial report, Business Administrator Jordan Rennell confirmed she finished the end-of-year report and noted that the district received grant funding used to support specific positions.
"We have all of our award amounts. So now all of our TAs, nurse, technology, and all the people we have slotted for those positions for that funding will now fall into that," Rennell said.
Although it was only early October, Rennell urged the committee to begin discussing the upcoming budget. She cautioned that these grants are not guaranteed windfalls, particularly when the town approves its budget before grant figures are finalized.
"When we are building a budget, we are counting on those grants ... but what if they don't come in, and now we have to look at the budget?" Rennell said. "... I just feel like it is a gamble passing a budget counting on hundreds of thousands of dollars. What if we don't get it?"
She advised the committee to plan for potential cuts or identify alternative funding sources for a worst-case scenario.
Barnes added that while the school could previously draw from school choice reserves, that buffer is no longer available.
"We are not in that position anymore that we used to be in, so I am glad Jordan is bringing this up in October just to have it on the forefront of everyone's mind," Barnes said.
The committee also received a building update from Tom Bona, a volunteer managing several facility maintenance projects.
Bona said he is collaborating with an architect to finalize the scope of work for the bathroom renovation project. He expects to finish by the end of the month, allowing the town to open the project for bidding. If total costs stay under $50,000, the town can bypass the formal bidding process.
Bona mentioned that most materials have been purchased, though he is still waiting on a few orders, including bathroom partitions.
"Part of the excuse is there was some items not included with the order," Bona said. "The stuff is ordered; I just thought they would be here by now."
He explained that materials were initially ordered in phases to stay within the grant allocation, but the town has since covered the remaining cost overruns.
Bona asked the committee to establish a priority list for future building projects. Rougeau agreed there is more work to be done and invited Bona to tour the facility with her to draft the list.
"There are some things I see, that I notice, and I don't know what is a reasonable ask or a reasonable fix," Rougeau said. "... Like, there is [a] bump at the top of our stairs that worries me. Is that easy to remedy or hard to remedy?"
In other facilities news, Rougeau noted that the school is continuing to replace traditional door knobs with ADA-compliant handles purchased through grant funds. Peters was unable to complete the upgrades before retiring.
"They take a very long time to install, so he did as many as he could before he left," Rougeau said.
The new handles retain the existing lock cores, leaving the basic locking mechanisms unchanged. However, the handles feature an automatic lock.
"If the door shuts, it is locked. If a teacher leaves and the door shuts, they are locked out," Rougeau said. "We do have master keys to every door, but we think we have a classroom key to every door."
She noted that administrators need to inventory which keys teachers currently hold, hoping to avoid a costly re-keying process.
Before adjourning, Committee Chair [Name/Title] urged residents to complete the North Berkshire School Study Survey.
The survey takes seven to 10 minutes and is open to residents in the Hoosac Valley Regional and Mount Greylock Regional school districts, as well as those in North Adams, Clarksburg, Florida, and Savoy. The survey closes Oct. 9.
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