Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Nevada working to get off school improvement list

Nevada Schools are on the M-1 list for school improvement.

Rick McAfee, Nevada superintendent, said both schools met the adequacy standards, with the high school meeting the standards last year. Because of this, he added, Nevada High School shouldn't be on the list and an appeal will be made to have it removed.

The elementary school, he said, didn't meet the annual progress in the economically disadvantaged subgroup last year, but did this year. Nevada Elementary School is on a "watch list" and if it continues to meet the requirements will be removed from the list altogether.

The district, he said, has met the requirements for the federal No Child Left Behind Program.

Jim Cross, maintenance and transportation director, told the Nevada School Board, at its September meeting, the bus fleet is getting older and needing more repairs. In fact, he said, more has been spent on repairs this year, than in the first nine weeks of last year.

When the district went to a diesel fleet, he said, it purchased four new buses. These buses are 1990 models with almost 200,000 miles on each of them.

McAfee said the district purchased one bus on the revolving loan program, going through a local bank to buy it because of better interest rates than the state was giving. "We should buy a new one this year, but we're going to have to watch spending."

Turning the topic to basketball, McAfee said the Blue Jays will have seven home games before the Christmas holidays, but none are on Friday night. After the holidays, the Jays will only be at home four times.

Part of the problem, he said, stems from the consolidations earlier this year. When districts consolidated, it forced other schools to scramble and reschedule basketball games.

Nevada furnishes shoes for the players, using money from gate receipts to buy them. McAfee said the district will purchase the shoes again this year, but urged patrons to come out in force to the home games to it can buy them for next year's team as well.

Tiffany Beasley, NES principal, said because of the gym's floor problems, pee wee basketball season has been postponed until the spring.

McAfee said the floor, which was damaged in the June storms, has been properly repaired and will be ready when the Jays take to the court for their first home game.

Beasley said eight people showed up for substitute teacher training, and five had never substituted in the district before. The elementary school, she added, has been sharing subs with the high school.

Six people are being interviewed for a position vacated by Jeanette Steed, who resigned to accept a job with the Prescott School District.

Kindergarten students, she said, will be taking a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch in Fulton later on.

Frank Bradley, NHS principal, said the school improvement plan has been submitted and should be approved.

The district held the school election Tuesday, Sept. 21, with only one person running for the board, and no changes for the millage rate. Originally, the district had not planned to hold an election, but the state Attorney General mandated the elections must be held.

David Beard will be the newest member of the board, replacing Mack Bridges in the Willisville area. And, because of Beard's work schedule, the board voted to change its meeting date from the third Thursday in the month, to the fourth Thursday each month. All meetings are to begin at 7 p.m.

McAfee said revenues are up in the district because of an increase in state aid, while the local aid remains about the same. The largest amount of money the district will receive from local taxes, he said, will be from the October receipts. The district will get the money in November.

In spite of state aid increasing, he said, the district will need to cut about $50,000 from the budget to break even this year. This is because of the state mandated salary increases. The amount of aid the state provides, $11,000 per month, isn't enough to cover the additional costs.

Patrons at the meeting questioned the board about the free and reduced lunch menu policy, asking about the importance of families signing their children up even if the students don't want to eat in the cafeteria.

They were told the district would receive $178,000 in extra funds if 70 percent of the students were on the program, and this amount would be more than doubled if the figure reached or exceeded 80 percent.

While this money could only be used for special items, such as hiring math and science coaches and purchasing certain types of equipment, McAfee said it would free up other money that could be used and is needed elsewhere  such as in tutoring.

McAfee said the program is confidential with no one knowing who has been signed up for free and reduced lunches. The state education department only receives a printout of numbers.

He said the state is removing Algebra A and B from all schools next year, which means students will have to begin with Algebra I. The state, he added, is requiring all schools to offer six math courses, with one being a college-level class.

Parents complained saying many children aren't prepared to take Algebra I when they reach high school because they didn't learn the basics in elementary school.

McAfee said this problem is being addressed at the elementary level to try and make sure all students have had the opportunity to learn the basics and be prepared for Algebra and higher level math classes.

Additionally, he said, students are being tested every year now, so it will be easier to track them and know how they're doing academically.