Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Complaint heard

Nevada's School Board meeting opened with a 90-minute executive session.

There had been complaints about an instructor and the Board allowed those with grievances to speak their piece. After a trio of people had spoken, the board remained in executive session dealing with other personnel matters. No action was taken in the session on any personnel issues.

However, Superintendent Rick McAfee said the allegations made against the instructor will be investigated and appropriate action, if needed, will be taken.

The district will be advertising for a high school math teacher, a high school language art teacher, a high school counselor, a high school foreign language teacher and a special education teacher for the elementary school.

McAfee was given permission to advertise for any position that may come open between school board meetings.

In January the Board voted to buy a new pickup, replacing one with more than 100,000 miles on it. McAfee said the district also has a van and the driver's ed car needing to be replaced. These vehicles, he told the panel, can be put up for auction in Prescott, along with two buses.

The auction is scheduled for March 24. Jim Cross, transportation and maintenance director, said the 1990 International bus has between 150-160,000 miles, while the other has been cannibalized for spare parts for other buses. But, if the maintenance crew can get it running, it can be sold at the auction as well.

McAfee said the district could probably get more for the vehicles at auction than in an ordinary sale.

He also said the district got some good news, which resulted in another $44,000. It seems more people signed up for the free and reduced lunch program, increasing the percentage of students who receive free and reduced meals at the school.

Because of this the state paid the district the $44,000. Nevada will also get about $11,000 a month on this program for the rest of the year. However, McAfee said, this is restricted money and can only be used for specific things. It can, though, be carried over from year to year. By and large, the additional monies will free up funds in other area which will take some pressure of the district's budget.

The Board updated the school's policies to get in compliance with state law. McAfee said the Arkansas Department of Education met Jan. 10, and changed the standards of accreditation for schools in the state.

Nevada had to change 18 policies to get in line with the new state regulations. McAfee told the Board the district's Personnel Policy Committee had met, examined the changes and agreed with them.

The Board also revised its academic outcomes under the new policies.

Another state requirement is the adoption of textbooks for the coming academic year. The elementary school adopted McMillan-Mcgraw-Hill for its language arts books, while the high school opted for Holt-Rhinehard-Winston for its language arts. Both sets are in line with the state framework.

The Board agreed to move its meeting next month from March 22 to March 15. This is because the parent-teacher conference is scheduled for March 22 and would conflict with the meeting.