School board renews teachers' contracts

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

— Contracts for teachers in the Gentry School District were renewed on April 16 by the school board. With a single vote, school board members (with the exception of Clarence Kreger and Coye Cripps, who were absent) approved the rehiring of the current certified staff for the 2012-2013 school year.

School district superintendent Randy Barrett told the board that the teachers had all received satisfactory evaluations and were recommended for rehire by their respective principals.

Approved on their first readings and sent on to the respective personnel policy committee or the classified personnel policy committee were proposed policy changes which would spell out district policies for requesting leave and signing and returning contracts for employment in the district. The proposed policy would require teachers and staff to sign and return contracts within 30 days or they shall be deemed to have resigned and would be notified by the district of contract withdrawal, at which time they may appeal to the school board.

The proposed changes put in writing the district’s practices and are being put forward to prevent any confusion regarding how staff must request family leave time and how contracts are to be signed and returned after they are offered by the board.

The board approved retaining George Spence of the Clark and Spence Law Firm as the school district’s attorney. Spence represented the district in the McCrary v. Gentry School District case which was recently resolved. A retainer request of four passes to Gentry athletic events was also approved by the board.

Barrett said the district continued to be in good financial standing, with a legal balance at the close of period nine in the fiscal year of approximately $2.6 million and an operating fund balance of $2.8 million. The district also has a $3.4 million balance in the building fund, leaving approximately $2.3 million after bonded debt payments as the district’s “nest egg.”

Total fund balances, according to Barrett’s report,were $6.3 million, though Barrett reminded the board that the payment of teachers' summer salaries would come out of the operating fund balances yet in June.

Barrett provided School Choice data to the board with some explanation of Arkansas Department of education requirements for Public School Choice transfer requests.

Barrett explained that the Gentry District could accept Caucasian students from neighboring districts but not from school districts which are below the acceptable percentage range determined by the state, including the Decatur School District. Gentry is under represented byHispanic students, Barrett said, making the district eligible to receive Hispanic students, but the district could only release Hispanic students to a district of a lower Hispanic percentage.

Barrett reminded the board that Public School Choice transfers are entirely separate from the District-to-District transfers approved by the school boards of both releasing and receiving districts.

The board approved extending the contracts of Kim Fougerousse and Terrie Metz from 11-month to 12-month contracts. It also accepted the resignations of Susan Juillerat and Sherry McMillen.

News, Pages 10 on 04/25/2012