Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Financial discussion lengthens meeting

Prescotts School Board ended 2005 with a lengthy meeting, with plenty of questions about financial matters.

However, the actual business didnt take long at all. The meeting began with the Board approving out of state travel for three coaches to a clinic in Dallas, Texas, for Jan. 8-11. The clinic is to help with player development and will be paid for through the athletic departments budget.

The District, the Board was informed, set aside money for this from athletics, with most of the funds coming from gate receipts.

From there, the Board approved an agreement for screen printing on shirts with an employee of the District. Penny Plunkett has a screen printing business and filed the necessary paperwork under Act 1599 so she could do business with the District.

Hyacinth Deon, superintendent of the Prescott School District, said the agreement could be done for two years, but does not mean Plunkett will get the Districts business. We will do business as needed, she said, adding she doesnt expect this to be more than $2,500. In addition, no District money is involved. The Board approved the agreement for two years.

The Board also accepted an equity report. Deon explained this is a self-study all districts must do. The reports must also be filed with the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). These studies are done each year in the fall, with goals being reviewed.

The longest part of the meeting, aside from a discussion on finances, concerned repair projects. Deon reminded the Board this issue was discussed during the November meeting, adding there is grant money available for immediate repairs.

The overall cost of the repairs is estimated at $550,503, Deon said, with the state picking up $326,611, or 60 percent of the costs. The District is required to pay the remaining 40 percent, or $223,891.

An architect must sign off on the bids, so work can begin in the Spring. Deon said the District has to come up with its part, and if it doesnt have the cash on hand, it may have to look at getting a revolving loan to help defray the cost. We can wait and see if the money is there in the Spring, she said, but it wont get any cheaper.

One of the most immediate needs is putting a new roof on the fifth and sixth grade building at McRae Middle School. There are five layers of roofing over these halls, Deon said, and the District doesnt need to delay the repair process.

This is the first adequacy study in Arkansas, she said. We have things that must be done. This is through the facilities study. All schools were checked.

This was done after the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled against the State in the Lake View case and required all districts have adequate facilities. Those doing the study came up with a deficiency list, Deon said, which gave the State an idea of what it would cost to make facilities adequate. This was further broken down by campuses.

Prescott had a safety deficiency, which was corrected with surveillance cameras being installed. Deon said the District went with this as the best method of dealing with problems at Prescott High School last year and has been paying off. The students know the cameras are there has only been one incident of vandalism since the cameras were installed.

The District, she said, needs to put cameras in the Prescott Sports Complex, primarily in the lobby, as a milk box, purchased with grant money, has been damaged.

Additionally, she said, the District needs to have 63 lighted exit signs at Prescott Elementary School alone. This is needed so students can find their way out in an emergency situation.

Deon was asked about the architects fee. She said the fee is 9.5 percent of the overall project, and is figured into the bid process.

Once bids have been received, they must be approved by the ADE before the money will be released.

Additionally, she said, the District needs to submit a three-year plan by Feb. 6, 2006, and have a seven-year plan in place by 2007. These plans must include maintenance plans for the next decade.

Board member Jo Beth Glass said she doesnt like how the drug policy reads, but can wait to make changes in it until the Board examines the handbook again. She asked when the last time this policy was looked at.

Deon said the policy was approved by the Districts attorney to make sure it was legal.

The problem, Glass said, is there are those who arent following the policies and the principals need to be held accountable in these cases. She asked why the drug testing policy hasnt been followed as it is for students in grades seven and up.

The tests, Deon said, are expensive, adding this is something the Board may want to take out of the handbook. I dont know why the testing wasnt done. With the policy the athletic director and coaches should be responsible. The policy requires 10 percent of the athletes in all sports be randomly tested for drugs.

This policy, Glass said, needs to be clarified more.