Baxter Community School District board addresses short-staffed custodian issues

BAXTER — The topic of short-staffed custodians and bus drivers resulted in lengthy discussions at the Baxter Community School District board meeting Monday night.

The board voted unanimously to hire another full-time custodian to add to the staff, making scheduling for other custodians a little easier.

The tricky, part, however, was determining the hours and rate of pay for the new position in order to fit into the school district’s budget.

Jon Northrup, Baxter School District board president, said the board ultimately decided on a full-time, 40 hours per week position that pays $14 per hour to fill and giving the other custodians more flexibility in their schedules.

“It’s just so we have coverage. It was four or five years ago when we laid off a janitor. This will be the fourth full-time janitor we have. Although we have one of them as a janitor two hours per day and driving buses two hours per day,” Northrup said.

Currently, Baxter schools have five bus drivers employed. Northrup said while their school district would like to have more school bus drivers available for their after-school activities, he recognizes it’s a common issue with other school districts, and may not be immediately addressed.

“I think a lot of school districts have trouble trying to find school bus drivers,” Northrup said. “I don’t think we’re much different than any other school district that way. They’re part-time jobs.”

In other Baxter School District topics discussed at the meeting, the idea was brought up where Wi-Fi can be installed on a school bus, making it easier for students to do their homework on the bus. The concern with board members is it will will only be installed on one bus, potentially causing other students and parents to complain about their buses not having Wi-Fi.

In her superintendent’s report, Dr. Mickolyn Clapper pitched the idea of installing a Raptor technology in the buildings. This technology would require driver’s licenses be scanned for people visiting the schools, and would inform school officials if the visitor is a criminal or a sex offender.

In the annual board meeting that proceeded the regular school board meeting, Northrup was re-elected as president of the board.

Contact Orrin Shawl at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or at oshawl@newtondailynews.com