Special to The Star-Herald
PRESQUE ISLE – The SAD 1 board of directors approved bids for fuel and refuse collection at its Aug. 6 meeting.
Only one bid for each type of fuel was received. MPG Inc. bid 16 cents for transport margin on large shipments of unleaded gasoline and No. 2 fuel oil and 28 cents for small truck deliveries. Sprague Energy bid 6.1 cents on No. 5 fuel oil.
“I don’t like to see us in this position,” said Curt Culberson, chairman of the board’s finance committee. “With (fuel) prices where they are and only one bid, (the bidder) could very easily drive the price. There’s not a lot we can do about it, though.”
SAD 1 Business Manager Charlie Anderson said a second bid on unleaded gasoline and No. 2 fuel oil came in that day from Dead River, but it was above MPG’s bid.
“We go through the same process every year,” he said, adding that attempts were made to solicit more bids. “It’s a tough market.”
The school board also approved the refuse collection contract, awarding it once again to low-bidder Star City Sanitation. The monthly price for 2008-2009 will be $1,764 for non-recyclable trash (up from $1,714), and $343 for recyclables (no increase).
Also at the meeting, Superintendent Gehrig Johnson announced there would be an increase in school breakfast and lunch prices – 10 cents for students and 25 cents for adults.
“We’re all aware of the impact on students,” Anderson said, “but the costs of food and delivery have impacted not just this program but all programs.” SAD 1 is not the only district increasing its prices, he pointed out. “Everyone in the County has raised their prices.”
The increase is expected to raise $15,000 in additional revenue to offset the cost of the “school lunch” program.
In other business, the board voted:
• To accept the resignations of Louise Carroll, part-time speech therapist; and Jean Duncan, eighth-grade math teacher.
• To hire Jennifer Swafford-Flynn as communications director for the district and Gregory Reed as a Spanish teacher at Presque Isle High School.
The board’s next meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the board conference room at Presque Isle High School.
