Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prescott School Board calls for public meeting

The Prescott School Board spent a great deal of their September meeting time discussing finances. The board is looking at a proposal from Prescott Superintendent Hyacinth Deon to purchase a new school bus and a used school vehicle, but most board members say they are even more concerned about the schools financial situation now that a proposed millage has failed.

Deon told the board the district did not purchase a bus last year, and that the fleet needs some immediate attention. Board members agreed to allow Deon to seek bids for the bus, but the general concenses seemed to be that they plan to look over the situation before approving the purchase.

On the subject of replacing the schools vehicle, Deon said she tries to keep a vehicle available for school personnel for school-related travel because the gas allowance isnt sufficient to cover expenses.

Board members say they want input from the community about the operation of the schools, and they're holding a public meeting on Oct. 10 for that purpose. The meeting will be at the Prescott Elementary School's activity center and each board member will serve as moderator for a group.

The goal is to allow members of the community to air their concerns and questions, and to make suggestions about ways the district can meet the facilities improvements mandated by the state.

The decision to hold the meeting was made during Tuesday's regular board meeting, and came as the result of discussion on the failed millage increase. The board had asked for a 4.7 increase in mills from district taxpayers in order to fund facilities improvements, but that measure didn't gain voter approval.

Where does the board want to go now that the millage has failed? asked Deon.

Board members said there have been misconceptions about the reasons a millage increase was sought, including the idea that the proceeds would be used for new construction. The district has been mandated by the state to perform some renovations and repairs to existing buildings, and the millage increase was to have been used to let bonds to fund those projects. The district is now faced with deciding the next step.

I wish we could get more people involved in that, said board member Tom Cornelius.

The board held a public meeting in mid-September, a week before the school millage election. That meeting was not well attended and those who were present were school employees.

Board member Jo Beth Glass said she felt that more people would attend if it was made clear that they would be encouraged to talk. Glass cited an informal meeting hosted by the board in which small groups were formed to discuss issues, then gathered for a wrap-up meeting. That meeting is being used as a model for the Oct. 10 meeting, with each board member serving as moderator for a group.

Glass said the complaints about the district's expenditures that have been brought to her attention include those payments made for stipends and extra duties. She asked whether it would be appropriate to allow discussion of particular faculty. Deon said that some of those services are mandated and some are paid for with state or federal funding, leaving the district little choice.

Athletics is probably the only thing that's not a mandated activity, Deon said. That's a very large expenditure of every school, not just ours.

Deon said she's not a proponent of cutting athletics, because she believes it to be important to the community and students. She said those who do well in athletics typically do well in academics.

Deon said she believes there needs to be communication with members of the community as to what steps the district should take next. She said it was fairly obvious even before the election that the community wasn't likely to approve a millage increase, though the board had already made arrangements for that issue to be on the September school election ballot.

The fact that the voters didn't approve the issue means that the district now has to find other ways to continue functioning at the current level, Deon said.

The community has spoken so we want them to speak again and tell us what they want, she said.