Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Grades Causing Problems For Athletes

There were some serious questions for the Gurdon School board concerning grade point averages, athletics and cheerleading.

Gurdon Athletic Director John Pace said there were no problems with this until five or six years ago when the Arkansas Department of Education stepped in and set new guidelines.

The ADE stated those students participating in extracurricular activities, such as athletics or cheerleading, had to have at least a 2.0 GPA and no more than one remediation for high school students. Junior high students must have a 1.8 GPA.

However, the Arkansas Activities Association has different requirements for participation, which are tougher than the ADE's. The AAA states students must pass four core subjects per semester to take part in an activity.

Pace said the AAA has dropped the ADE requirements.

The problem, he said, is the district's handbook basically states students must follow both policies.

A headache for the students, he said, is the district can't get a specific decision from either organization on which rules take precedence.

The AAA, Pace said, did a participation survey to reach its decision on requiring four core courses being passed, while the ADE did nothing.

"This needs to be taken care of," he said. "It needs to be cleared up and all be of one accord. We've been complying with the ADE, but a lot of schools haven't.

"We've got some students who aren't able to meet the GPA requirements. It's a double standard because students can graduate with a D, but can't play. We need to know by next year."

All courses are considered under the ADE guideline for grade point average, while the AAA requirements are specific and students must pass four core courses, such as math, science and English.

It is unfair, Pace said, for students to be able to graduate from high school with a D average, while others are not allowed to take part in extracurricular activities if they have the same grade.

"It's unfair to the students," he continued. "Some need athletics. Extracurricular activities help the school. A good season will get people to rally around and bring the community together.

"Good coaches look after their students off the field as well. We want to give them the chance to promote themselves."

Pace suggested the district follow the AAA guidelines for Pass 4, instead of the ADE's GPA regulations. Both, he said, can't be adhered to.

The subject of discipline came up, but Pace said it was a completely different issue than athletics and grade requirements.

Pace also suggested the board examine its credit policy for physical education courses, saying Gurdon's current policy is for one-fourth a credit, while most schools count PE as half a credit.

This, he said, would cut down on the amount of PE required and help students with their GPAs. The board voted to table this issue until its April meeting.

In other business, the district received two bids for the old Gurdon Middle School property.

One was from the Clark County Youth Development Council for $150,000 for everything.

The second bid was for $15,000 from the New Bethel Church, which only wanted to purchase the cafeteria and property to South 5th Street.

The board agreed to take the Clark County Youth Development Council bid, and repair the leaks in the cafeteria's roof.

Seventeen former athletes will be inducted into the Gurdon Athletic Hall of Fame on April 19, 1997.

Smithson said more than 50 were nominated to the Hall. It would take about three years to get everyone inducted, he said.

A banquet will be held for the inaugural inductees on April 19 at the GHS cafeteria. Tickets will be $5 each.

Since camera cabinets have been installed in all buses, Smithson said, the behavior problems have decreased.

He said there is one camera, which is rotated among the district's buses. However, no one knows what bus the camera is actually on.

This was done because parents complained about a driver's behavior toward the children on one route. It cost the district about $2,000 to install the system, but it's money Smithson said was well spent.

No decision was made on a 1997-98 school calendar, though two different calendars were submitted for the Personnel Policy Committee to study.

One proposal received four votes, while the other garnered 45. Twelve teachers didn't vote for either one.

There could be another problem for Valentine's Day, though. Next year the holiday falls on a Saturday, while school is scheduled to be out on Feb. 13 for a winter break.

Smithson said deliveries for flowers and balloons could be done Thursday, Feb. 12 -- depending on what the weather does.

This year Valentine's Day fell on a Friday when school was slated to be out. However, the deliveries scheduled for Thursday were interrupted by a snowstorm which closed school.

Board member David Williams, discussing the calendar, said he would like to see Martin Luther King Day celebrated at Gurdon.

Smithson said if this is done an extra day will have to be added to the schedule to meet the 178 days required by law.

He said there is no statewide policy concerning Martin Luther King Day, with the individual districts making the decisions.

This issue was tabled until the April meeting as well.