Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

No election at Nevada

There will be no election held for the open position on the Nevada School Board.

At the Board's August meeting, resolutions were passed to go with absentee and early voting instead of holding a full election as there is only one candidate. David Beard is seeking the seat being vacated by Mack Bridges.

Under the terms of the resolution, no polls will be opened and no poll workers hired. Rick McAfee, Nevada superintendent, said a new law on elections allows districts to do this. By doing so, it saves the district money.

The Board also agreed to consider moving its regular meeting from the third Thursday in the month to the fourth Thursday. This is because Beard works nights on the third Thursday. However, no decision was made on the change as the topic was tabled until the September meeting. This is to give interested parties time to voice their opinion.

The district entered into a tuition agreement with the Hope School District to provide alternative education to problem students. McAfee said districts must have certified people in all areas and for Nevada to do this would require hiring at least five more teachers.

Under the agreement, Hope will get the state funds for the students sent to the Garland Learning Center. Hope, McAfee said, is becoming the area's alternative learning environment (ALE) provider.

Several parents and patrons were on hand at the meeting all expressing their support at how things are going and the changes made.

The parents asked several questions about policies and the direction the district was going, expressing confidence in the results of the test scores. One parent said her child was anxious to get his results back and see how he did individually.

To a person, the audience said they expect positive results this year from the changes made.

McAfee gave the district's annual report, saying Nevada is in the fifth year of its five year plan and will be starting a new cycle next year. District patrons will be asked, he said, to participate in helping create a new five-year plan. "It's important to let the people know changes can be made and they can be involved in the process."

The district, he said, was the pilot program for the state and will be in cycle three of the five-year plans. Nevada is accredited on both the high and elementary school levels.

The Benchmark Exam scores, he said, will be broken down by sub-groups (primarily at-risk and low income students) to see where the problem areas are. These areas will be addressed when making the new plan.

In addition, he said, the district is expanding its after school tutoring this year.

Part of McAfee's address on the annual report concerned the free and reduced lunch program. He said the district needs 300 signed up to have 70 percent participation. With 70 percent participation, the district would receive another $170,000 from the state.

This money could be used in a variety of ways, including paying salaries for instructors of specific programs. The money would be restricted aid, he said, but would help the district by freeing up other funds.

Nevada, he said, has two new administrators, Frank Bradley, the new principal for the high school and elementary school, and Tiffany Beasley, the assistant principal. These two, McAfee said, spent the month of August in meetings getting ready for the 2004-2005 school year.

Maintenance and Transportation Director Jim Cross said the district received about $12,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for storm damage in May and June. This money will help defray the cost of replacing coverings on the playground, doing dirt work and having trees removed. FEMA purchased three loads of bark to be put on the playground.

McAfee said he's not satisfied with the repairs made to the gym floor. This is because there are places where the wood is sticking up and students could be hurt.

The Blue Jay basketball teams are practicing at one of Hope's gyms, and will until this situation is settled to the district's satisfaction.

"The contractor we hired is reputable," McAfee said, "but the subcontractors he hires didn't do a good job. I won't release the money until it's done right."

The Board approved the budget for 2004-2005 at $3,160,569.49. McAfee said the largest expense the district has is salaries for certified personnel. With the additional $170,000 increase mandated by the state, salaries in Nevada will take up more than $1.7 million of the budget.

There was also a drop in the amount of federal program money the district received, he said. This is due to the loss of students last year.

But, he said, if the district can reach the 70 percent mark on the free and reduced lunch program, the $170,000 extra the district would get would offset the state's mandated salary hikes.

And, he added, the district started with 10 students more than it had at the end of last year.