DECATUR — “This is the first day of school, and the question everybody wants to know is ‘how many kids showed up,’” said Larry Ben, superintendent of the Decatur Public School District, as he opened the second school board meeting of the 2013-14 school year.
The meeting was held Aug. 19 at Decatur High School. A hush came over the room as board members and administrators all awaited Ben’s announcement.
“This is our count. It is not our enrollment, it is not what is on the books, it is how many kids we counted in class. At the elementary school (Northside), we got 307; at the high school, 214; for a total of 521,” Ben stated.
He went on to explain that, as the first week progressed, the number would increase. When the enrollment levels out in the coming weeks, then the district will know how many students are in attendance at both schools.
According to the fi ve-year trend of enrollment beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, the numbers have declined slightly. Ben explained to the school board that their enrollment “is based on the three-quarter average daily maintained (ADM). That’s the number the state uses to provide our funding. They take an average of all those dates and come up with a number.”
Decatur had an ADM forthe 2012-13 school year of 515.9. This was an increase over the last four years but slightly lower then the fi rst year in the trend period, 2008-09, when the district had 225.
It will be hard to tell what the ADM for this school year will be until the end of the third quarter. However, if the opening numbers are any indication, it looks like Decatur may be beginning an upward trend in enrollments.
After approving the July minutes, fi nancial report and staffing changes, the Decatur School Board turned its attention toward the tuition agreement with the Ozark Guidance Center/ Therapeutic Day Treatment action item on the agenda. The seven-part agreement provides on-site clinical services, diagnostic assessment, crisis intervention and clinical consultations, as well as off-site clinical services such as psychiatric consultation and medication management and psychological testing. These services are provided “to students, residents or other persons over whom Decatur School District has an obligation or desire to provide such services. Ozark Guidance Center will provide these services for the 2013-14 school year at a cost of $30 per student per day. The school board passed the agreement.
In other business, the Decatur School Board approved a $7,000 bid to beautify the grounds at both Northside Elementary and Decatur High School. Services for this project include fill dirt removal, plants, cement channels, weed barrier, mulch and labor. Work will be done in an effort to make both schools more presentable to the public.
The board also approved a service contract renewal with the Arkansas School Boards Association for the Arkansas School Boards Model Policy Agreement. The ASBA Model Policy Manual allows school boards to operate in a uniform manner across the state.
The final item on the August meeting agenda was the inventory deletion of an old Chariot Deluxe Scrubber floor machine. The board approved the removal from inventory on grounds that the machine is non-operational. It will be scrapped as soon as possible.
Community News, Pages 6 on 08/28/2013