DECATUR -- The Decatur School District considered several items during its regular meeting Feb. 15 in the meeting room at Decatur Middle School.
Jeff Gravette, school superintendent, presented the 2016-17 school calendar for board approval. The faculty and staff previously voted to accept the calendar and the board also accepted the calendar.
Gravette continues his work to complete the facilities master plan and partnership funding application with Arkansas Department of Emergency Management agency. The Decatur Middle School Gym is a year-one funding project. If approved in May 2017, the district will have until October 2018 to begin construction and until April 2021 to complete the project.
In addition to the funding project grant, Gravette met with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to file a letter of intent for additional safe room funds. The district will apply for a $750,000 grant to cover part of the $1,000,000 price tag. The 520-square-foot Decatur Middle School gym will double as a safe room similar to the one completed at Decatur Northside Elementary in 2015.
The Decatur High School remodel which will include a new dining area and kitchen will be a year-two project. If the remodel project is approved for funding in May 2018, the district will have until October 2019 to begin construction. The district will have until April 2022 to complete the cafeteria remodel.
The school board is looking to upgrade the current phone system to a Voice Over IP Internet system. The new phone system will allow the district to have a phone in every classroom on all three campuses. This would allow for better communication between faculty and office staff as well as a system to notify authorities in the event of intruders.
"We need to assure that our students and faculty feel safe in the classroom," said Charles Weber, IT coordinator. "This new phone system will give the teachers and students a chance to report suspicious activity should the need arise."
The new system is expected to cost the district between $10,000 and $12,000.
Gravette, along with his counterparts from Gentry, Gravette, Bentonville and Siloam Springs, is currently working on plans to open the Western Benton County Career Center, possibly near Decatur. This center will allow students not wishing to attend college to earn a trade certification.
After an executive session, the board voted to renew Gravette's contract for another two-year period. It also voted to renew the contracts of Northside Elementary principal Cary Stamps and Decatur High School principal Toby Conrad for the 2016-17 school year.
The Decatur School District board meeting is scheduled for March 14 at 7 p.m. in the meeting room between the high school cafeteria and Decatur Middle School. For more information, go to decatursd.com.
General News on 03/02/2016