School security, in the form of metal detectors, and school transportation were two of the issues discussed at the monthly meeting of the Centralia High School Board of Education Thursday night.
West Bus Service, a longtime provider of transportation to the district, will probably not offer the service to the school next year. Superintendent Dr. Chuck Lane said CHS was the company’s last customer.
“It appears that we will be responsible for the transportation of our bussing students this year which is fine. We have had a really good relationship with West Bus Services over the years. We’ve already talked to the drivers and the person running it and they are all going to transfer over to us. So the services to the students will not be any different, they will just become our employees and not West Bus employees. Still a few kinks to work out and I guess it could always change at the last minute but as of now it looks very likely we will be doing the transportation of our students.”
Lane says CHS is also looking into the possibility of having metal detectors in the near future, although probably not at the start of the school year.
“Carbondale HS currently has them and used them the last part of the school year and Marion HS has them and will start using them in August so in this day and age I think we need to be proactive as we can and make our schools as safe as we can be. We had a good discussion, and I do want to talk to our staff about it but it does look like we are moving in the direction of adding metal detectors at some point.”
CHS Director of Security Bryan Kuder discussed the trip to view the system at Carbondale High School, point out the details of the equipment and how it would benefit CHS. He added that the need for the detector is “not a matter of if, but when.”
Lane said Progress continues on the new construction at the Annex, and the proposed solar field. Lane said the solar project at this point is waiting for governmental approval of some final details centering around a creek on the property, and that he’s been told it will probably be approved as planned. But he added the project is currently at the “mercy of the EPA.”
In other motions, the board moved: to accept the letter of resignations from Erin Martin as a full-time aide, Ryan Hargis as in-school supervisor and Amanda Horst as full-time annex aide all effective at the end of the just completed school year and James Taylor as Annex security guard, effective July 3, 2023. The board employed Josh Nunnery as an in-school supervisor and Ryan Marko as Welding teacher for the coming school year.
