GRAVETTE -- Members of the Gravette High School Quiz Bowl team attended the March 13 meeting of the Gravette school board and led the Pledge of Allegiance to open the meeting. Board members recognized the team for taking third place in recent competition. The team attended state competition April 1 in Dardanelle and took fourth place in the contest.
Patrick Hall, business director for the city, addressed the board regarding property located near Hiwasse. He brought a map of the property and the copy of a deed saying it is to be used for school purposes. Hall is trying to determine who is the owner of record for the property and said the city is interested in purchasing the property and cleaning it up. It appears the school district is still owner of the property, but board members are not sure about that. The board voted to have an attorney investigate the matter.
Bill Hayford, business manager, gave the financial report. He reported that donated CNC machining equipment would be brought to Gravette on March 15. He said district tax revenue was up $15,000 and general revenue up $47,000. Delinquent tax collection is pretty significant, he noted. Operating costs go down this time of year, he said, and his projection for utilities expenses was closer this year.
Richard Page, superintendent of schools, gave his report. He noted that parent-teacher conferences were going on all week and that spring break was scheduled for March 20-24. He said that Governor Asa Hutchinson was signing Senate bill 288 on Wednesday in Little Rock. He said he planned to attend and invited any available board member to join him. (Jay Oliphant, school board president, and Jay Chalk, Gravette High School principal, accompanied Page.)
Representatives of Nabholz Construction were present and gave an update on building progress at the Upper Elementary addition. The foundation, underground plumbing and electrical were in, concrete was to be poured on Tuesday and a metal building should be going up the following week, they said. Nabholz employees said they would bring a report to show progress each month. Board members voted to approve an expenditure of $479,000 plus or minus 3 percent for the project.
A short discussion was held on the status of various items on the facilities committee list. Some items that have been completed were marked off and others that have not been completed will be reviewed. The board asked Superintendent Page to give the updated list to the facilities committee for review.
A meeting on board goals was scheduled for Tuesday, April 4. Hope Duke and Jack Skillett are on the subcommittee to review the goals. Former board member Susan Santos has also agreed to meet with the committee.
Robin Leonard, technology director, gave a technology report. He reported the schools are using interactive projectors which can turn dry erase boards into Smartboards. He said he would be requesting more Chromebooks. He reported that kindergarten through second grade students will be tested online next year. Board members directed Leonard to prepare a policy that restricts the students' use of mobile devices in classrooms, saying they felt a standardized policy was needed. The policy should be available for the April school board meeting.
A written vocational report and a written preschool funding report were submitted.
Board members voted to approve the sick leave donation proposal submitted by the personnel policy committee with the policy to go into effect immediately. The motion passed unanimously. The board discussed the proposal of reimbursement of unused sick days to all employees who have served 10 years in the Gravette school district but no decision was made.
Board members also approved the revised foreign exchange student procedures with new procedures effective immediately. The selection committee will now meet in February and in May to consider foreign exchange student criteria and select students for the district. The motion passed unanimously.
Board members unanimously approved authorizing Richard Carver, transportation department supervisor, to seek bids for the purchase of a new school bus.
A discussion of board policies was postponed until the April meeting. Board president Oliphant did say he would like to consider changing the policy that requires students to take a fifth math course for graduation. He said he wondered if general math or courses such as the CNC machining class which use math could be substituted for the required math course. He noted that Gravette's graduation requirements are already higher than most. No action was taken on this item.
Board members voted unanimously to approve the original calendar submitted for the 2017-2018 school year. Board member Tracy Moorman requested that graduation, May 12, be added to the calendar.
Revision of fees for use of the performing arts center was discussed. Board members voted unanimously to approve a universal deposit of $250 and a $100 rental fee for ticketed and non-ticketed events, effective April 1 unless a previous contract has been accepted, and to raise the hourly rate from $25 to $35 for the performing arts center supervisor.
Members moved into executive session to consider personnel matters at 8:45 p.m. and returned to open session about 40 minutes later. After returning to open session, the board accepted the resignations of Natalie Hotary as high school English teacher, Heather Gabriele as first grade teacher, Zina Weihe as middle school secretary, Samantha Bates as paraprofessional aide and Codi Bates as paraprofessional aide.
Board members also voted to rehire the Glenn Duffy Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School and High School certified staff as presented for the 2017-2018 school year and to hire Harris Steele as a self-contained paraprofessional at the Gravette Upper Elementary School, with an additional $1 per hour for being highly qualified, for a total of $12.41 per hour, for the remainder of the 2016-2017 school year.
General News on 04/05/2017