Plans for improvements at the Saltsburg elementary and high school buildings have yet to be finalized. But elementary parents angry about their kids at-tending school in trailers will be placated by one change. When classes resume in the fall, most pupils no long-er will have to go outside to get to classes in four rooms in two trailers. Principal Don Davis told Blairsville-Saltsburg School Board Monday that he has been able to relocate sixth grade classrooms into the school proper. (One of the four auxiliary rooms still will be used for a "challenge" class consisting of 12 students.) "There will be no regular classrooms out there," Davis said, a change which was requested by school board members. But the trailers will still be used for a faculty room, a parent resource room and a work area for a "school performance facilitator." (In that role, Davis ex-plained, Becky Stiffler analyzes student test results.) Long-term use of the mo-bile homes, a "temporary" solution to overcrowding, has been a sore point with Saltsburg parents, especially with the lack of any roof to shield students walking from school to the modular units. "It's been an ongoing concern for years," Davis ac-knowledged. "Our students have had to face the elements." Now, "students will not have to go outside in the rain," board member Ed Smith said. "That will be great." Parents and some board members also have objected to students venturing outside the secure confines of the school. Davis said that issue also has been addressed by beefing up a fence surrounding the mobile homes. However, four similar mo-dular classrooms will re-main in use at Saltsburg High School. Blairsville-Saltsburg Superintendent Dr. Robert Mencer noted one room is used only half a day, for a French class. Opponents of the mobile homes want the district to build onto both Saltsburg schools. Officials of the cash-squeezed district reply that enrollment is declining and the need for the extra classrooms will be eliminated through attrition. At the high school, Mencer said, "We have a high number of kids coming through the secondary level. It will take about three years before that tapers off." Davis noted the current 475 Saltsburg elementary students will drop slightly or stay the same next year. Either way, he is planning to maintain 31 classrooms in the building. Two Blairsville instructors will be retiring at the end of the school year. Departing on June 8 will be elementary teacher Richard Laick and high school English teacher Carolyn T. Baker. Laick, who joined the district in 1971, will join his wife and fellow instructor, Linda, who previously retired. "We're losing a very kind and considerate individual," said board member Dan McGregor. Blairsville High School Principal Tim Haselhoff described Baker as "an inspiration to students. We're going to have a tough time replacing her." She has taught since 1986. Other resignations were accepted from: Ronald Ing-ram, a custodian at Blairs-ville Elementary School; Sue Shellhammer, a noon-hour supervisor at Saltsburg Elementary; Elizabeth Whitesel, who will retire June 30 as a Saltsburg High School cafeteria aide. Rose Mary Kozub resigned from steady work as a noon-hour supervisor at Saltsburg Elementary School, a position which entails a three-hour shift each day. Instead, she will be added to the list of substitutes. An uncompensated leave was approved for guidance secretary Sue Piper May 3-12. Bryan Gould and Mark Palmer were named volunteer coaches for the Blairsville baseball team. Autumn Calnon is a volunteer coach for the Blairsville softball team. B-S board members tabled approval of several prospective custodial and cafeteria substitutes because there is not a procedure in place to interview such non-instructional fill-ins before placing them on the district's formal substitute list. Mencer suggested that building principals, who process applications from substitute teachers, use the same method in screening substitutes for support staff positions. B-S approved a 2004-05 school calendar which calls for students to report Sept. 1, ending their instruction on June 9. That schedule matches the dates set by the Indiana County Technology Center, where the district has 70 students enrolled. Mencer noted two other districts which send students to the technology center, Homer-Center and Marion Center, have opted for a slightly different 2004-05 schedule, beginning Aug. 30 and ending June 7. Also, he said, next year's Blairsville-Saltsburg calendar allows for five snow days, up from four set aside this year. Based on its enrollment, B-S agreed to pay $429,794 as its share toward a total 2004-05 technology center budget of $4,046,872, a little more than $6,000 per student. Bids were awarded for purchase of various bulk supplies. The school board approved purchase of $27,491.52 worth of general supplies, $18,338.47 worth of copier paper and $9.97 in copier supplies. Also, $713.04 in health and emergency supplies; $209.87 in janitorial supplies; $434.39 worth of computer paper and supplies; $1,269.64 in industrial arts supplies; $832.74 worth of science supplies; $318.75 in maintenance/cafeteria paper products. Bids for art supplies were tabled for further review. Blairsville-Saltsburg board members adopted a series of policies ensuring privacy of student and staff medical records. Counselors were made available Monday to help Blairsville students cope with the death last weekend of a well-known member of the student body, 14-year-old Jessica Kurnocik. The ninth grader succumbed after a three-year battle with cancer. "It was a very tragic loss," said Middle School Principal Joyce Henderson, who helped organize a benefit auction for the youngster. "She was an accomplished student. She fought a valiant fight but still lost." Several upcoming field trips were approved. Today, Blairsville gifted students will attend a Career Days and Science Technology Festival at the Carnegie Science Center. On Wednesday, Blairsville's kindergarten class also will head to Pittsburgh, with stops on the Gateway Clipper and at PNC Park. Saltsburg's chemistry and physics students will participate in the IUP Science Festival April 30, while the school's technology students will travel to Triangle Tech May 6. That same day, Saltsburg's developmental reading class will visit Carnegie Museum and Library. On May 11, seniors at Blairsville High School will take part in an Indiana Regional Safe Driving competition at IUP while the school's yearbook staff will attend a Josten's spring workshop. Saltsburg High School's History Day team will head to Penn State May 12-13 for a state competition. Also on May 13, Saltsburg's seniors will take a class trip to Dave and Busters in Pittsburgh. Saltsburg's AP Physics and Physics I students will attend Kennywood Park's Physics Day May 19. On May 20, Blairsville's psychology class will visit Torrance State Hospital and Saltsburg's gifted English students will attend an English Festival at Duquesne University. Saltsburg's AP History class will tour Washington, D.C., May 21. Blairsville Middle School Students will take outings May 27. Sixth graders will visit Idlewild Park and Soak Zone, while eighth grade students will conduct an environmental study at Yellow Creek State Park. Elise Auvil, one of Blairs-ville High School's representatives to the school board, reported she and fellow students recently took part in a tobacco compliance check, visiting 21 stores. She noted three violated the law and sold tobacco to students, all minors.

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