Bleacher plan approved

— Because of an error in a bid, the school board at a special meeting on Monday rejected the previously-approved bid of $96,000 and approved a revised bid of $127,770 to replace the home-side bleachers in the high school gymnasium.

The bid, submitted by Cas Gymnasium Equipment of Conway, is to replace the current pullout bleachers which are approximately 30 years old with new electric bleachers - a large portion of them having chair backs.

Gentry Schools superintendent Randy Barrett recommended the board reject the previously approved bid because of an honest mistake in the first bid price, he said. The board then chose between available options and selected the new bid for the work.

The board also approved three school-choice transfers into the district, two from Decatur and one from Rogers.

With a single vote, the board accepted the resignations of Michelle Slayton as Gentry Middle and High School band director for next year, Alonzo Pettigrew as Middle School teacher and high school coach, and Lydia How as third-grade teacher. A transfer request of Tamhra Coones to be assigned as speech-language pathologist in Gentry rather than in Decatur was also approved.

Coaching assignments, along with the reinstatement of a science teaching position at the high school, were also approved by the board on Monday.

The goal of the changes in coaching assignments was to move toward a coach working the additional hours two seasons per year rather than three as some coaches have done in the past. Little said.

News, Pages 2 on 05/25/2011