DECATUR -- In his first meeting as district superintendent, Jeff Gravette, on July 21, reported to the school board that no decision has yet been reached concerning the hiring of Doug Holly as director of transportation and maintenance for the Decatur school system.
The decision is subject to approval by the Arkansas Department of Education.
Gravette introduced the two new principals for the three schools in Decatur. The first was Toby Conrad, who replaced Deborah Coffer as the high school principal. With the Decatur middle school slated to open Aug. 18, Conrad will also serve as its principal, with John Unger serving as dean of student affairs. Cary Stamps, who comes to Decatur from the Gravette school district, will take over as principal of Northside Elementary.
John Mack gave an update on the progress of the safe room at Northside. He presented the school board with the final plans for the facility. Mack reported that the preliminary work on the project is three weeks ahead of schedule. The Decatur Planning committee reviewed the plans and sent them to the city council, which approved the plans July 11. The plans were sent to the state site review for final approval. Mack reported that this saved the project $900 since that is what it would have cost had they gone through the city of Decatur.
The next step in the building process for the safe room is obtaining bids. The board decided to accept bids until 5 p.m., Aug. 18, the date of the next board meeting.
The Middle School project is nearing completion, according to the maintenance supervisor, Doug Holly. Holly reported that the floors and ceilings are completed. The last thing to complete in the project is painting the classrooms and office. Once this is finished, the school will be ready for furniture.
Holly assured the board that the project will be completed on time and ready to receive the first sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students on Aug. 18.
The next scheduled school board meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Aug. 18 in the technical development room at Decatur High School.
General News on 07/30/2014