GRAVETTE -- Winners of the Gravette School District's sixth annual Christmas card design contest were present at the Dec. 18 meeting of the Gravette School Board. Fourth-grader Piper Batie, the upper elementary winner, led the Pledge of Allegiance to open the meeting. Tenth-grader Talitha Weston also attended the meeting. Cards designed by the students were sent out by the district. Winners of the contest at each school were given a packet of the cards for their own use.
Bill Hayford, the business manager, gave the November financial report. He said that fund balances were down about $70,000 from this time last year, noting that utilities were up about $3,000 with a higher electric bill and fuel costs up a little. He said the Gravette school district is a strong district and will continue to do well. This was Hayford's last report to the board since he has resigned, effective the end of the year.
Richard Page, the superintendent of schools, reported he had sent a rough draft of a proposed patron survey to board members and asked for their suggestions and revisions.
Page also reported that the Glenn Duffy Elementary pre-K program has earned a three-star rating as an Arkansas Better Beginnings program. This is the highest level a program can receive and signifies the best quality of child care in Arkansas. Better Beginnings is Arkansas' quality rating improvement system for licensed child care and education facilities. (See related story elsewhere in this issue.)
Kim Davis, a special education supervisor, gave the special education report and reported an increase in special education students. Students in the lower grades are moving up, she said, and 49 students with special needs have moved into the district this year. Eight students were gained as result of Vantage Point closing. Davis said she is doing a study on special education student numbers, their long-term need and how best to serve them.
Davis said she will look at the data, study the numbers and present a report at the March board meeting. She will likely be recommending hiring more staff, she said, and noted that about 15 percent of Gravette students are special education students while state average in Arkansas schools is 9 percent.
Richard Carver, transportation, custodial and maintenance department supervisor, presented an updated master plan for building and maintenance projects. Board members voted unanimously to approve the plan.
Board members voted to approve the transfer of one student from Gravette to Bentonville and voted to allow two students who have moved into the Gravette district to continue to attend Gentry schools.
Board members adjourned and went into a short executive session. After returning to regular session, they voted to hire Dennis Kurczek as business manager for the remainder of the 2017-2018 school year. They also voted to expel a high school student for the remainder of the 2017-2018 school year. The student must have a negative drug test before being allowed to enroll for the 2018-2019 school year and will be placed in the random drug testing pool.
General News on 12/27/2017