GRAVETTE -- Dan Yates, retiring school board member, was honored at the September meeting of the Gravette school board for his 10 years of service to the school and the board. Board president Jay Oliphant thanked Yates for his faithful service and presented him with a framed photograph of the high school campus.
"I appreciate the time and service you have given to the board and your help to me personally," Oliphant said.
Winners in the Glenn Duffy Elementary P.A.W.S. ("Pawsitive" and Wise Students) program led the pledge of allegiance to open the meeting.
Lori Russell gave a report on the HOSA trophy case project. The total cost of the project is $7,223 for the case and lettering above it. The board had voted at an earlier meeting to pay half the cost, up to $4,000. A donor has agreed to match the amount the school board pledged and $1,500 has been raised so far.
Business manager Bill Hayford gave a comprehensive financial report to the board. He said the year was off to another "smooth start." He noted the amount of grant money received had almost doubled over last year.
Superintendent Richard Page presented his report to the board, including a calendar of upcoming events. These include new board member training in Little Rock Oct. 13, board training at the Coop in Springdale Oct. 26 and a local board planning session at 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29. He said the board has a new mobile app that ties to the website and is useful for parent notification. He urged board members to investigate and download the new app.
Transportation director Richard Carver presented a financial report and comparison of bus ride time covering three years. He reported the addition of a new bus route to the Bella Vista Boys and Girls Club in the evenings. There are 52 to 53 students who ride this bus, and three buses which previously stopped there no longer have to unload riders there. Carver also reported 4,881 miles were covered in the school's summertime travel schedule, 2,954 miles for athletic events, 930 for academic trips, 605 for Boys and Girls Club activities and 392 for administrative trips.
Curriculum director Stephanie Summerford reported on the 2015-16 ACSIP plan. She said the ACSIP program is all going online and board members can log in and check on the plan at any time. A committee will meet monthly to assess progress. The current ACSIP plan is a draft plan and the final one will not be available until May.
High school principal Jay Chalk gave an update on vocational training programs and announced that Gravette had been chosen as a satellite campus for Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale (see separate article). The hearing regarding Gravette's conversion charter school application will be held Nov. 18 or 19 in Little Rock. Chalk said he was not worried about the hearing as he felt "very confident about our program." A mock hearing will be held Nov. 13.
Superintendent Page presented an attendance report, showing enrollment was pretty close to last year's. Actual enrollment is 1,811, down slightly from last year. Eighth grade is the largest class, with 180 students enrolled.
A motion was passed authorizing Richard Carver to seek bids for a new school bus. In other action, Bill Hayford presented the 5 percent salary report to the board. A House bill requires the board to review and approve by written resolution all salary increases of 5 percent or greater.
Hayford presented the 2015-16 budget to the board. The budget, reflecting 2.3 percent salary increases for classified and certified staff, was approved by the board. Money has been budgeted for textbook replacement and an inventory has been made of textbooks, year purchased, year published and publisher's name. Board president Oliphant asked Summerford to establish a five-year replacement schedule or at least assess whether replacement is needed at five-year intervals as that has been determined as the established life of a textbook. The school's science textbooks, purchased in 2007, are the oldest.
Board members also unanimously approved a motion to purchase 150 Chromebooks, 90 for Gravette Upper Elementary and 60 for Gravette Middle School, at a cost of $38,100. These will be purchased out of Title I funds. Monitors currently in use will be moved to classrooms and labs where they can be plugged in for additional power. All Chromebooks purchased have been assigned to students, and three extra will go to the EAST Initiative, which is taking applications for a technology team. Members also approved continuing use of the M86 Internet content filters.
The school board report and decision calendar was approved with two slight changes, and unanimous approval was given to submitting the school's secondary satellite program and welding program to the Arkansas Career and Technical Department.
When board members returned to regular session after a short executive session, they voted unanimously to approve the resignation of Nicole Youngblood in the food service department and to offer an employment contract to Sylvia Ward as a bus driver.
General News on 10/07/2015