Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Millage Vote Less Than Two Weeks Away

BY JOHN MILLER

Time is drawing near for the vote on a millage increase to help the Prescott School District fund renovations and build a new gym.

Ron Wright, superintendent of the district, said the telephone survey was successful as the 40-plus volunteers called all the registered voters in the area to inform them about the district's plans.

He said there were some who had no idea Prescott was even asking for a 3-mill increase, while others contacted were concerned about the district being below the state average.

The district, he said, has developed a theme for the campaign, "Blue Ribbon Schools for Blue Ribbon Students." Businesses throughout Prescott are sporting blue ribbons showing their support for the millage.

The idea of the ribbon campaign, Wright said, is two-fold. First, students need quality facilities in which to study, with the second arm of this attack having the district's teachers work harder to help the students bring their standardized test scores up. The two, he said, go hand in hand.

The idea, Wright continued, is with the district asking the people of Prescott to make a commitment to it, the district should, in turn, make a commitment to producing the best students possible.

At this time, he said, the test scores are going in the right direction, but not as quickly as the district would like. The overall goal is to graduate seniors who, when they go to college, don't need any type of remedial courses.

To help with this, Wright said, teachers are using instructional checkpoints to find the strengths and weaknesses of their students.

Instructors are required to examine the standardized test scores, revamp their teaching methods, if necessary, and develop a matrix with a grid showing how the students are doing and in what areas improvements are needed.

The teachers, he said, jumped at the idea and "got after it."

However, the millage vote is to help the district make renovations to the existing structures while building a new gymnasium at Prescott High School.

The renovations include roofing work at all three schools, new heating and air conditioning units at Prescott Elementary and Prescott Middle schools and improving the restrooms at PES and PMS.

The gym at PMS will also be renovated, basically from the ground up. This project, Wright said, will be the most expensive the district is undertaking for renovation work.

At PHS, he said, plans are to swap some classes around, get the classrooms more centralized to help provide better security and build a new gym.

The gym's lobby, Wright continued, would be used as a cafeteria for high school students, thereby keeping them from having to cross the street and use the cafeteria at PES.

The timing for the renovations and in seeking the 3-mill hike also work out well, as the district will have some of its bonded indebtedness paid off about the time the increase would go into effect.

Additionally, Wright said, legislation passed by the Arkansas General Assembly will see the state picking up about 40 percent of the tab for the renovation work.

Voters who don't want to wait until Sept. 21 to cast their ballots can either vote early or absentee. Voting in this manner began Tuesday, Sept. 7.