Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Crowding at concession stand questioned

Questions were raised about crowding around the concession stand during home football games.

Members of Concerned Adults-Prescott Schools (CAPS) asked Willie Wilson, dean of students at Prescott High School, what was being done about it.

Wilson said he has talked with PHS Principal Carroll Purtle, and more security will be brought in to help keep traffic flowing. Part of the problem, though, is local boys and girls hang around the concession stand to meet the students from the visiting school.

The addition of public restrooms at the new field house will help alleviate the situation somewhat, he said. And, he added, there is talk of adding a mini-concession stand by the athletic booster club.

Questions were also raised about the scheduling situation at PHS. Wilson said part of the problem was the number of students has fluxuated between 348-356 at the high school, when the normal student population is around 325. Were trying to put students where they need to be so they can graduate on time.

There was also the problem of no full-time counselor last year. PHS had a part-time counselor, but this only added to the scheduling confusion. Another addition to the situation was when the schedules were originally made out, it was done in conjunction with a teacher shortage. By the time school started, PHS was fully staffed and the schedules had to be juggled to help reduce class sizes.

We could have a problem if wee get an influx of evacuees (from Hurricane Katrina).

The numbers on students participating in the distance learning program are small, he said, but this is because students had to be approved for this last year.

Career orientation will be incorporated this year, and be done during study hall. In addition, Wilson said, remediation will be done during study hall also, but the remediation classes wont be year round.

Any member of CAPS wanting to work in a supervisory position with students, he said, must go through a background check. This is federal law, and the check can be done through the Nevada County Sheriffs Office for a fee of $10. This is for those who may want to take students on a field trip. Teachers also have to get background checks done when they renew their license.

Rita Shaw, with CAPS, said David Maxwell is asking for this because of some things hes planning on doing.

Billie Haynie said students have been complaining about the amount of food being served at lunch, as well as the availability of it.

This situation, Wilson said, was addressed last year with students helping to work on the problem. The portions were increased, but this caused the district to exceed guidelines. Last week, though, students were allowed to get seconds, if any were available.

Its the worst Ive ever seen it, he said, with so many on both lunches eating.

Another part of the lunch problem is students only have 26 minutes to get their meal and eat. This is because Prescotts distance learning classes are on the Maumelle system, and have to run on Maumelles schedule. Well try to keep the lines flowing and do the best we can with the facilities we have.

Karen Richards asked if businesses could set up satellite locations on campus to help with the lunch problem.

Its something the district could explore, Wilson said, adding the concern would be making sure each of the businesses involved had enough time. It could be done on a rotational basis, he added.

On the topic of discipline, Wilson said teachers and administrators are now moving on the first offense, instead of waiting for the students to get comfortable with their classes. The only warnings given are in the classroom by the teachers. Otherwise, students are sent to the office and disciplined there.

At this time, he said, there are three students the district is ready to turn over to the juvenile justice system because the students wont go to the mandated In School Suspension (ISS).

Once they have been turned over to the deputy prosecuting attorney, the students will have to appear before a judge and explain why they havent attended ISS. Should they fail to appear in court, a Family In Need of Service (FINS) petition will be submitted to the court.

However, he said, no one has been sent to Saturday school yet.