Teacher raises on hold

GENTRY - Raises are on hold for now for Gentry teachers and support staff until the district knows the outcome of the Arkansas Public Services Commission decision in regard to retrofitting the Flint Creek Power Plant.

As of the May 28 school board meeting, no ruling had been issued by the APSC.

The APSC is under no legal requirement to make its decision within a certain time frame, according to Randy Barrett, Gentry School District superintendent of schools.

"Their decision could come tomorrow, next week or six months from now," he said.

Should the retrofit plan not be approved and the Flint Creek Power Plant be shut down after new Environmental Protection Agency regulations go into effect in 2015, the school district stands to lose approximately $600,000 annually due to the lost tax revenue for mills above the 25 mills guaranteed by the state, according to a public comment filed by Barrett with the APSC in March. The loss of the power plant would also cost the state an additional $800,000 per year to make up for lost revenue to support the guaranteed 25 mills, making total losses to the state and the Gentry School district approximately $1.4 million annually.

As a result of the uncertainty, Barrett told the board he is waiting to know the outcome before bringing a recommendation for salary increases for teachers and staff, saying he didn't wish to make a recommendation that the district would be unable to maintain.

He said staff is expecting a review of salaries sometime during the next school year.

According to the SWEPCO website, "the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has imposed strict new regulations on power plants across the country," and "SWEPCO must upgrade Flint Creek Power Plant to meet the new EPA regulations or shut the plant down by 2015 and replace the essential power it provides."

Estimated cost of the project to retrofit the coal-fired power plant is $408 million,according to a SWEPCO press release.

In related business, the board renewed contracts for classified staff for the 2013-2014 school year and also approved a number of personnel changes, including accepting the resignation of Ann Phipps, first grade teacher; hiring Andrea Thomas to teach high school math; hiring Lisa Suit to teach high school art and to coach junior girls' volleyball; hiring Rachael White as intermediate school library media specialist; and accepting the transfer of Carmen Tromp from third grade to first grade.

Another item on hold for a final decision is reserving the field house at John Brown University for graduation next spring.

According to Barrett, the date JBU would be available is May 16. He voiced concerns that the date may be too early to avoid conflicts with soccer meets and advanced placement testing. No decision was made on the graduation date or reserving the JBU field house until more research can be completed on sports schedules and other options.

News, Pages 5 on 06/05/2013