Schuylkill County is gearing up to send about 20 prison inmates to Columbia County at $60 a day each to alleviate jail overcrowding.

Commissioners on Wednesday approved a yearlong contract with Columbia, with an option to renew on an annual basis.Officials are also finalizing details to send as many as 50 inmates to Berks County, said commissioners Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr.Currently, 10 inmates, all women, are being housed in Centre County's prison, and 22 male inmates are housed at a privately run prison in Delaware County, also at $60 a day each.It costs the county about $45 a day to keep an inmate in its own jail.The state Department of Corrections on May 4 ordered the county to stop jailing people whose sentences are a maximum of six months to five years to keep the average daily population at a maximum of 277.That's most defendants, President Judge William E. Baldwin has said.The prison population is exploding due to the drug epidemic, resulting in too many inmates crowded three to a cell.Officials have implemented a number of programs, including a pre-release program that involves strict supervision and electronic monitoring.Officials have discussed reviving plans to build a pre-release center to keep the prison population down.Other mattersIn other matters Wednesday, commissioners promoted Denise McGinley-Gerchak of Norwegian Township from clerk typist 1 to assistant tax claim director at $34,269.The county courthouse will be closed Mondayin observance of Memorial Day.Also on Wednesday, commissioners honored two Schuylkill Technology Center students for their achievements in the Pennsylvania Skills USA competition.Kevin Graff, whose home school is Shenandoah Valley, won a gold medal in small engine repair. He'll go on to the national competition in Kentucky.Brandylynne Witmer, whose home school is Blue Mountain High School, won a bronze medal in welding by creating a sheet metal sculpture.