SAD 1 Board talks trash
By Jon Gulliver
Special to the Star-Herald
Getting rid of refuse will be more expensive for SAD 1 this year. New rules and fees regarding trash will raise the district’s annual costs from $25,000 to roughly $40,000.
The board of directors of SAD 1 voted unanimously, at its Aug. 10 meeting, to approve a three-year contract with Star City Sanitation for refuse removal for $1,990 a month. In addition to that charge the city of Presque Isle has a tipping fee of $90 a ton. Normally contracts are on a year-to-year basis, but since Star City Sanitation was willing to lock-in the price for the three years, board members agreed to the deal. The tipping fee is set by the city and may be subject to future increases.
Superintendent Gehrig Johnson said he asked the city manager last spring if the tipping fee could be waived for the district since both entities receive funding from taxpayers, but that idea didn’t go anywhere.
“The good news, if there is any, is that we knew about this early and budgeted for it,” said Johnson.
To help take some trash out of the wastestream, and save money, a new recycling program was championed last year by a Presque Isle High School student. Principal Donna Lisnik says Paul Elish, who graduated last June, spearheaded a campaign to get recycle bins in all the classrooms.
Also at the meeting the board of directors approved three new policies involving student distribution of non-school materials, school sponsored student organizations and non-school sponsored student organizations. It’s not uncommon for the board to regularly review and revise school policies according to Superintendent Johnson.
The policies adopted unanimously by the board establish guidelines for what can be distributed at school by students, and the principal must have a copy in advance to see if the material complies with the new policy. The other two provide a framework for allowing school sponsored and non-school sponsored organizations.
The next SAD 1 board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 7 at the School Farm at 5 p.m.
