Harbor Springs school board talks 5G testing results, wage increases during Monday meeting
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include clarifications about the wage increase for a special education paraprofessional position and EMF testing.
HARBOR SPRINGS — The Harbor Springs Public Schools Board of Education had its last regular meeting before the start of the school year on Monday and went through lots of general housekeeping items, including pay schedules and 5G testing updates.
The meeting began with an audit presentation. UHY merged with Michigan's Baird, Cotter and Bisho in June, and the same auditors were kept on staff.
The same auditing team came up to the area, and one auditor spoke to the board about the district's finances.
The discussions ranged from how money is moved to a bank after a sporting event to the last of the ESSER funds being available to be spent.
Additionally, during the audit report, Superintendent Brad Plackemeier spoke about the expected grant funding differences and processes based on free and reduced lunch applications, which will no longer be necessary after the Michigan budget included an allocation of $160 million to feed all public school students in the state for the 2024 fiscal year.
During the meeting, Plackemeier said the district is gearing up for all sorts of back to school activities.
The district's new student orientation is scheduled for Aug. 29, and teachers are set to come back to school on Aug. 30 for a professional development day. There is also a community picnic scheduled for Aug. 30. Students are set to come back for the first day on Sept. 5.
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Plackemeier also mentioned that the district will be working with Beyond Basics for their three-year literacy intervention program.
Also, Michigan EMF Specialists finished testing in the district to track radio frequencies coming from nearby cell towers and the district's internet sources.
This testing comes after local concern came to the district after AT&T and Verizon announced plans to upgrade the cell towers on top of the high school to offer 5G. While some towers upgraded, they are still only broadcasting 4G, and the testing also tracked the frequencies coming from the Wi-Fi in the district as well.
The testing was conducted in July and the district is still waiting on the full report with all the findings, but the group did not see anything the district should be worried about, Plackemeier said.
There are also new construction updates, including a new flow of traffic around the new elementary school that's set to open for the 2024-25 school year.
The board approved a $1 an hour wage increase for a special education paraprofessional profession, which is isolated from the other paraprofessional salary schedules. The extra dollar an hour is due to an increase in necessary training and responsibilities, including monitoring vital signs.
The board also approved a 3 percent increase in child care staffing wages. This would cost the district from $23,000-$25,000 a year. These costs will be offset by the increase in tuition, which will generate between $4,000-$5,000 per week, Plackemeier said.
The next regular Harbor Springs Public Schools Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Sept. 11.
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Harbor Springs school board talks 5G testing results, wage increases
