Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

School Board Elects Officers

A new slate of officers was elected during Tuesday's meeting of the Gurdon School Board. Once again, Charles Ledbetter was named president, while Miles McKenzie is the new vice president. Robert Burns will be the board's secretary.

Other members of the board are: Charles Hatley, Woody Graham and Tommy Overbee. The newest member is Jesse Runyan.

Once the officers were elected, Bobby Smithson, superintendent, gave the financial report, telling the board things are fairly normal for this time of year. He said if the district stays within budget, the revenues and expenditures will be in line with one another.

The district received $200,000 in taxes during September, and anticipates a larger tax check from October's collections.

Smithson informed the panel the first phase of construction at the new Gurdon High School has not only been completed, but is now officially paid for and is owned by the district.

The gymnasium is currently under construction, with the steel skeleton in place. Smithson said little more than a shell has been contracted for the gym, and the board will have to make a decision on how to finish it out.

There are two avenues available, Smithson said, dip into the school's contingency fund, which isn't wise, or get a revolving loan and pay it off over the next six years. The revolving loan, Smithson told the panel, is the most logical way to complete the gym. Otherwise, he said, it will cost more because of the time it could take to complete.

Enrollment, Smithson said, is up to 918, about 30 more students than the district had last year. This is good news, the board was told, because each new student means an additional $2,700 from the state.

While the athletic budget has pulled itself out of the red, the band has not. Smithson said the band is $2,535.58 in the red because of deficits left over from last year. "It may not get out this year," he said. "We'll have to examine it at the end of the year."

He said the band began the 1995-96 school year $1,500 in the hole, and has not spent that much to date . The band's major fundraising effort comes from the concession stands during ball games, but the concession stand has not started generating much revenue yet.

Smithson said the high school activity accounts, overall, look good. He told the board the activity accounts for Gurdon Middle School and Gurdon Primary School are all in the black.

In discussing construction at the new school, Smithson said the four basic buildings are finished, but need some touchup. "It's ready to show off," he said.

However, because some of the equipment is being used at the current GHS, all items have not yet been moved to the new location. Smithson said the media center, agri lab equipment, kitchen and two computer rooms will be the last to be completed because this equipment is still in use.

A 40-foot flag pole has been ordered, along with an 8-foot by 10-foot American flag. The pole, Smithson said, should be here in November.

He said it will cost between $12,000 and $15,000 to purchase the canopy materials for the sidewalks. The canopy will connect all four buildings, and will be installed by the district's maintenance workers.

Vandals have tried to destroy the GHS sign, he said. The sign will be moved to the new school, and two side panels will have to be replaced.

According to Smithson, Clark County Judge Grady Runyan said county road crews would begin paving the road from Beirne to Highway 67. Hopefully, he said, it will be done by the end of the month.

In addition, he said the preconstruction conference for the water and sewer project should be held Friday. Once this conference is held, work can begin on getting water and sewer services to the new school. The final easements were obtained last week.

"If they (the contractors) don't start soon," Smithson said, "we won't be able to move at semester. It's frustrating to pay $60,000 and not move. We may hedge and not pay."

He said Christmas break would be the ideal time to move from the current GHS to the new one as there are no activities or classes, and would have less interruptions.

The dedication, however, is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 29, from 2-5 p.m. at the new school. The GHS choir and student council president will be on hand, as will the GHS band. Smithson said there will be hospitality suites set aside for alumnus of different years. However, the program is tentative at this time, and no keynote speaker has been obtained. The district had hoped to get Congressman Jay Dickey to speak, but he can't be there because of scheduling conflicts.

The board set aside Nov. 21, 1995, Jan. 2, 1996 and March 15, 1996 for comprehensive outcome evaluation. These days were chosen because of their proximity to holidays. In fact, these days extend vacation time for students for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring Break. Faculty members will be at the school for the meetings.

Smithson said there is good news for the district concerning the Horace Cabe Grant. He said word has been received the district will get a $25,000 grant it applied for. He said part of this money will be used to apply for matching money in order to purchase more science equipment for the elementary school.

The Cabes, Horace, Charles and Anita, will be recognized during the dedication for their generosity to Gurdon schools. In addition, Baptist Medical Center of Arkadelphia will be recognized for furnishing the school nurses' office.

The education advisory board, new for the district this year, was created by state mandate to work with at-risk students.

GHS Principal Leonard Gills said the Rev. Bobby Marshall is working with the In School Suspension (ISS) program as an advisor and counselor. He did similar work in Little Rock.

Gills said the state, while requiring the district implement the ISS and Alternative Learning Education (ALE) program, it only funded it with $9,000 for the year.

The board hired Lois Smithey as a Chapter I Remedial Reading Teacher, and Carla Jester as a Kindergarten Aide.

Two bids were received for roofing work. This is to stop a segment from leaking. The board accepted the bid from Gene Barrow Roofing of Fordyce for $6,226. The other bid was from Elliott's Roofing and Sheetmetal of East Camden for $6,975.