The Skaneateles Board of Education voted in favor of entering an inter-municipal agreement with the Weedsport Central School District to share business manager services, on March 18.
As of April 1, Weedsport and Skaneateles will share business manager Doug Tomandl. Under the agreement, Skaneateles will pay Weedsport 50 percent of the cost of Tomandl’s salary and benefits, and in return he will work for the district. His salary for the 2013-14 school year is $99,425.
Tomandl, who was introduced at the meeting, said he has been preparing to get to work by spending time at the district office with former business manager Dale Bates. Bates retired as of the end of February, but has been working for the district on a per diem basis since then.
“It’s not something the districts can rush into, but anytime you can learn from the person previously in the position, it is a good situation,” he said.
One of Tomandl’s first tasks with the Skaneateles district will be assisting the board in finalizing the operating budget at its April 1 work session.
In addition to working for Weedsport for the past few years, Tomandl has also worked as an administrator with the Penn Yan Central School District. He is a native of Auburn.
The idea to share a business administrator started with Weedsport Superintendent Sean O’Connell, who contacted Skaneateles Interim Superintendent of Schools Judy Pastel to talk about it, Pastel said.
The two then held meetings to negotiate the terms of a potential arrangement, while Pastel told a school board hiring subcommittee to put its search on hold so she could pitch the idea to the board, and the community.
Board members were supportive of the idea, saying that sharing services is a smart way to save money.
“It’s really the model of the future,” Board Member Evan Dreyfuss said at a previous meeting.
While Tomandl will work for the district as its financial officer only, other district employees will be promoted and given new responsibilities to cover the various supervisory duties held by Bates.
Current district treasurer Mary Short will be promoted to the position of assistant business manager, and will handle day-to-day supervision of food service, transportation and facilities. Short has been with the district 13 years and already knows the people who run those departments, Interim Superintendent of Schools Judy Pastel said.
Assistant Treasurer Barb Kula will then be promoted to be the new treasurer. The district will not fill the vacant assistant treasurer position, though Pastel said that the Short and Kula will both receive raises with their new roles.
Also, district employee Doris Sorendo will be paid a stipend to act as district clerk, another role previously held by Bates, which involves taking the meeting minutes for board meetings.
Joe Genco is the editor of the Skaneateles Press. He can be reached at [email protected].
