Pioneer School District’s Director of Facilities shared a status report on his department at the Dec. 12 regular meeting of the Board of Education.
Nicholas Titus presented his annual update to the board on past and current initiatives, and previewed upcoming plans. He first highlighted his department’s 45-person staffing chart, noting that there are only two current openings.
“Keeping positions staffed, especially cleaners, is always a challenge,” he said.
In addition to Pioneer staffing, he said the facilities department has contracted with Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES for two services. These include a heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) technician who works two days a week at Pioneer maintaining HVAC equipment across the district. “Since November 2022, we haven’t had to hire any outside HVAC contractors for repairs,” Mr. Titus noted.
The other C-A BOCES service involves a Senior Safety Technician, who reviews all district safety plans, creates new safety plans, performs fire inspections and completes yearly safety training sessions.
During Summer 2023, the department employed 10 student workers for 25 hours a week, and also provided work for two employees each from Wyoming County and the Pioneer Auxiliary Association support staff union.
Some of the recent projects completed by the Maintenance Department include:
Replacement of wood floors in the high school gym and rehabbing wood shop floors
New site lighting at the high school and middle school
Installation of a GAGA pit (playground game) at the middle school
Landscaping and courtyard updates at Delevan Elementary
Painting inside Arcade Elementary auditorium
Lighting upgrades at the entrance to Arcade Elementary
Seal-coating pavement districtwide
Varsity baseball and softball field rehabilitation
Mr. Titus listed some current departmental projects, including a state-sponsored Clean Green Energy Initiative, which provides assessments for energy use and indoor air quality. Other projects center around energy conservation, equipment replacement, and lighting upgrades at the high school and middle school.
Upcoming projects mentioned by Mr. Titus include:
Conducting a new Building Condition Survey by district architects
Reviewing federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety plans and revamping existing plans
Testing for lead in water at all facilities
Assessing indoor air quality through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)Clean Energy Initiative
Testing electrical panels for hotspots using infrared technology
Upgrading building control systems through the capital outlay project