Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

School board hears update on building

Gurdon Supt. Bobby Smithson gave the Gurdon School Board an update on proposed new classrooms to be built at the Gurdon Primary School campus during the boards meeting on Oct. 17.

Smithson displayed the architects rendering of the additional classrooms during the meeting and told the board that the construction will allow the district to discontinue the use of three portable classrooms, two of which were purchased in 1972.

The new addition will house two pre-kindergarten classrooms, an art room and a gifted and talented classroom.

This is going to take care of all of our needs there for some time, he said.

The addition should match the existing building exactly, Smithson said.

Bids for the construction of the addition were set to be opened on Oct. 19. The outcome of that was not available at press time. Smithson said he hoped the cost comes in at about $500,000.

The first phase of the project will include dirt work at the site, and this will have to be done before inclement weather sets in, Smithson said. Once that work is done, the project is expected to be completed in eight months.

Also during the meeting, the board discussed construction of the proposed new auditorium at the high school campus. Smithson said phase one of the project includes the construction of the auditorium and hall of fame. Other phases would see the construction of band and choir rooms. There has also been discussion of constructing an administrative office to house the superintendent.

I dont think we need a band room, and I dont think we need a choir room, Smithson told the board siting the fact that those programs already had suitable facilities. And Im not sure the superintendent needs to be on this campus.

Smithson said that once the money is gathered for the project, it will take one to one and a half years for construction of the 1,000 seat auditorium.

There is some concern that building prices will continue to rise as the project gets closer to reality.

We thought we could build the first phase for $2 million, he said.

Smithson updated the board on Gurdon High Schools accreditation probation status during the meeting. He said the school was placed on probation with the Arkansas Department of Education for the failure to offer five science classes and having a non-certified biology teacher at the high school.

Smithson said the district had previously employed a biology teacher at GHS who was not certified in biology was able to legally teach the course through an alternative licensure program. The teacher left the district, but later returned only to find out that his time on the ALP had run out.

Smithson said the district has corrected the problems that led to the accreditation problems. Environmental science has been added to the curriculum to make up for the missing class, and another teacher has been hired to work on an ALP to teach biology. The teacher has three years to become completely certified.

Dr. Frank Wiemer, second in command at the Arkansas Department of Education, visited the school district recently and approved the corrective measures, Smithson said. The district will, however, remain on accreditation probation for the current time.

The Arkansas State Board of Education will rule on the districts status on Nov. 13 in Little Rock.

Other business in the meeting included:

- The boards hearing of ex-officio reports from personnel of Gurdon High School, Cabe Middle School and Gurdon Primary School;

- The election of new board officers for the next 12 months; and

- An agreement to purchase Arkansas School Boards Association business trip insurance.