The West Jefferson Hills School District has moved closer to getting an alternative school running by January.

Tuesday night during a school board meeting, two motions were passed that start the ball rolling.

In the first, the board approved spending $9,500 to have BlendedSchools.net supply the online core curriculum for the alternative education program. It will be funded from a $500,000 federal grant for the program, which also will fund the hiring of two new teachers.

The other motion was to award a contract for $167,495 to ProTech Asphalt for site work required by Jefferson Hills.

A trailer, or modular classroom, will be used to educate the alternative school students. It will be located to the right of the district administration building on district property on Old Clairton Road.

Currently, the district pays to send students who are unsuccessful in the public school environment to educational sites outside the district.

The new school will allow the district to retain control and save money, officials said.

The structure will house a middle school classroom and a high school classroom. A math/special education teacher and an English/special education teacher will facilitate the online instruction.

High school principal Tim Haselhoff said he did not know how many students would attend the alternative school, or what specific circumstances would merit placement.

The vote for the asphalt contract was 8-1, with board member Karen Cassel dissenting. After the meeting, she said she objected to spending such a large sum for paving compared with the curriculum when the latter is what matters most.

The district also hired Oxford Development Co. to provide maintenance and custodial supervision at a rate of $5,000 per month for November and December, then $2,000 per month thereafter through Sept. 30. Current staff members will retain their positions, board President Marianne Neel said.

Bruce Elms, the district's maintenance supervisor for the past 15 years, resigned effective tomorrow to accept a similar position with the Elizabeth Forward School District.

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