GRAVETTE -- Susan Santos, of Bella Vista, was honored at the beginning of the Jan. 19 Gravette School Board meeting as an outstanding board member and given a pin from the Arkansas School Board Association. Richard Page, superintendent of Gravette schools, presented the pin. Page announced that January is School Board Appreciation Month and presented certificates to all Gravette School Board members. All were present except Dan Yates.
Page also commended Gravette senior Ashton Yarbrough, who has been chosen for the 2014-2015 William Randolph Hearst Foundation U.S. Senate youth program. Ashton will travel to Washington, D.C., later this year to participate in the program.
Board president Jay Oliphant reported on items discussed at a special meeting preceding the regular meeting. A salary study by the Johanson Consulting Group of Fayetteville was discussed. The study presented a comparison of classified salaries between the Gravette School District and schools in Benton and Washington counties. Oliphant said board members were working to get a salary proposal adjusted and a report would be given at the February meeting. He said board members were unanimous in supporting vo-tech and career training opportunities. Discussion centered around the need to look at facilities and shared resources with other schools in the area.
Oliphant said the Bentonville school system was seeking a location for a new elementary school and looking at sites in Pea Ridge and Bella Vista. The Bella Vista site is the same one the Gravette board has considered for future expansion, and Oliphant reminded those present that the letter of commitment from Cooper Communities is good for five more years but could be voided if someone else buys the property. The Bentonville School Board announced it would not pursue land outside of its district boundaries.
Lori Russell spoke to the board, giving an update on the HOSA showcase cabinet. She said accounts have been established at both local banks where people may make donations toward the project. Board members voted to add this item to their agenda and gave unanimous approval to a motion for a matching fund, up to $4,000, for the HOSA cabinet.
Bill Hayford presented the monthly financial report, giving a detailed statement of fund balances, assets and liabilities. He said expenditures for utilities were about as expected. Transportation director Richard Carver noted that he was quite pleased that the fuel bill was about half the usual bill.
Superintendent Page reported that a meeting of the safety committee would be held Jan. 27 and school resource officer Chuck Skaggs would be present at that meeting.
Page said he was pleased to report that the district had a pledge of $17,000 from the state for upgrading the HVAC system. Other welcome news concerned the receipt of $5,000 from the Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll Campaign. This contribution, the highest to any school in the area, will be used for the special education program. The Tootsie Roll campaign will be held Oct. 9-11, 2015, and Page said volunteers will be needed to help with the sales.
Page distributed copies of a parent newsletter prepared by parent involvement coordinator Janna Sharp. He said it was sent to 350 families by email and praised it as a "great communications tool."
He said the district hoped to have all the equipment for planned technology upgrades in soon. He reported that 10-12 students in the tech club have offered great assistance with tech problems. EAST lab students work on them in their one-hour class period.
Board member Jack Skillett suggested an activity period be set aside once or twice a month for clubs. Athletic director Norman Mitchell reported a 25-minute homeroom period was designed for tutorials preceding testing and for such club meetings.
Superintendent Page's attendance report showed December attendance was pretty steady. Attendance for the first quarter was up 19 students over last year. He reported 35 cases of flu the previous Friday.
Board members voted to approve two student requests to transfer out of the district. One student, for health reasons, wanted to attend classes closer to the parents' work. The other wanted to transfer to Siloam Springs to participate in programs not offered locally.
Transportation director Richard Carver presented the 2015 facilities master plan he has been working on for two to three months. Meetings have been held with administrators and board members Jay Oliphant and John Edwards. Carver had calculated the total square footage of all buildings and prepared a proposal for all planned projects and their estimated cost to help with long-range planning.
Board members voted to approve Carver's proposed master plan after modifying dollar amounts for a new elementary school and a classroom addition to the high school. They also deleted plans for an indoor practice facility and a four-classroom addition to the Upper Elementary. Board president Oliphant asked Carver to develop another master plan for internal use, adding the category "under discussion" for projects being considered but not yet definitely planned.
Carver said some concrete work was starting last week, pouring an air conditioning pad and an outside work area for the HVAC students. Plans are underway to remove the east side bleachers in the middle school gym and put in retractable batting cages. Board member John Edwards reported there was about $12,000 in Golf Classic money to fund this project.
Carver announced plans to re-establish a facilities committee with himself, board members Jay Oliphant, Jack Skillet and Tracy Moorman and faculty members. Jim Singleton suggested Bryan Johnson as a member.
The school calendar for 2015-16 was discussed. It covers 190 days, including 178 instructional days, two parent-teacher conference days and three teacher development days. Teachers are given a variety of options for the development days and all flex days are approved through the central office. The proposed calendar has been approved by a faculty leadership team and will be advanced to the policy committee for approval.
Athletic director Norman Mitchell was given unanimous approval to seek bids on new football uniforms. His estimated cost for 80 sets of Russell brand shirts and pants was $20,000.
Following an executive session to discuss personnel matters, board members accepted the resignation of central office secretary Blanca Guerra, who took a position in the Rogers School District; approved the transfer of Kim Hurtt, who has been with the Gravette School District for 10 years and served as administrative assistant in both Gravette Upper and Glenn Duffy Elementary Schools, to the position of central office secretary; hired Chloretta Skelton, who had worked at Siloam Springs Regional Hospital, as a cafeteria aide at Gravette Middle School; and hired Nova Sudduth to fill a vacant bus driver position.
General News on 01/28/2015