SAUGUS – The Saugus School Committee voted unanimously to extend Superintendent Richard Langlois? contract for another four years through 2015.Langlois thanked the committee for their support, and committee members in unison congratulated Langlois on the extension.School Committee Chair Wendy Reed said the contract will remain the same as the previous one.?There are no major changes and no monetary changes in wages or other benefits,” said Reed. “We?re just rolling it out for four years and I want to thank the superintendent. We all worked together on this.”In other business, Director of Finance Sam Rippin said he was pleased that busing was up and running on time despite some uncertainty over the summer.?I haven?t gotten one complaint,” said Rippin. “Parents aren?t shy, they?ll find me if there?s a problem. If I was going to hear them I would hear them now.”In previous meetings, Rippin said the school would need at least 70 parents to pay a $360 fee in order to reduce the amount of money taken from the school?s revolving account. As of Thursday, Rippin said 62 have signed up for bus passes.?I?m pretty darn confident that we?ll get 70,” said Rippin. “If not, then a little over. We?re on track.”After the school cut eight full-time crossing guard positions this summer, Rippin said principals are satisfied with the current staff of 10 crossing guards, and that there may be enough in the budget to add one more.?Kids are traveling safely,” said Rippin. “We?re very confident that there?s no issue with respect to compromising safety. I know there was a worry about that, but at this point there is nothing to be worried about.”Rippin said he was also happy with how smooth things went on the first day of school, noting the schools “looked good” and specifically thanked Ralph Matarese, the Building Maintenance Supervisor and his custodians.?They?ve done a marvelous job,” said Rippin. “A lot of work was done. The custodians did a good job waxing ? the floors look great, it?s very conducive to learning. The fronts of the buildings look neat, clean and inviting. I?m pleased.”At the Veterans School, Langlois said video cameras are being installed for security reasons after police stepped up their presence around the school in response to ongoing disturbances throughout the summer.?Those cameras are real,” said Langlois. “They do record everything and they are vandal-proof. That might change the setting over there and help police as well and we?re looking to extending it into some of the other schools.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter at @MattTempesta.
