Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Money, Student Census Plagues Nevada School

Money continues to be a concern with the Nevada School District.

At the regular monthly meeting of the Nevada School Board, Thursday, Feb. 13, Superintendent Rick McAffee said the district could get about $88,500 from the governor's contingency fund to help offset the loss of $91,000 from transportation costs.

The General Assembly, he said, is looking at the transportation problem, primarily created under the current funding formula which didn't take getting students to and from school separately from other areas.

A bill is being looked at which, if passed, could result in an extra $190,000 for the district. However, the district has lost 49 students since the start of the year. Should this figure remain the same for the three-quarter average, the district stands to lose $190,000 from student aid.

McAffee said he hopes the census is taken from a three-year average and not a three-quarter average, with any student losses coming from the extended time period.

"If we don't have the student population," he said, "we may lose teachers. I hope the numbers pick up and more come in so we can get growth money."

McAffee said the legislature will be looking at a number of funding formulas, but one thing must be the same in all of them -- each district in the state must be funded equally.

Transportation director Jim Cross said one of his employees is semi-retiring and going to half-time in the shot, but will continue to help with maintenance.

The kitchen roof, he said, is fixed now and not leaking.

All agreed it was a good call to close school Thursday because of the snow. Cross said the roads going north and south were slick at 5:30 that morning.

Board President Davis Benton told the board of the new weather computer at the Nevada County Rescue Unit in Prescott. He said this system, the Data Transmission Network (DTN), now gives the county a direct link to the national weather system and will be an asset.

He said all severe weather won't be caught by the system, but will put the county in a better position than it's in now.

During periods of severe weather, Benton said, someone will be monitoring the system at the NCRU.

Changing topics, Benton said Nevada High is in front of schools in Arkansas and the U.S. with its computer to student ratio (1 computer to every 3 students).

The Arkansas School Board Association, he continued, is working to get a grant to purchase even more computers for schools, teachers and school board members to learn how to use.

Benton said all members of the board need to be computer literate so they can stay in touch with the school at all times.

McAffee said the district holds a word processing course each spring and invites the public to participate.

He said a class on the internet is necessary as well. Six terminals, all linked to the Net, will be placed on-line in the NHS library in the near future.

Other business saw Natalie Sherwood and Hardy Herrington get their contracts renewed for another year. Sherwood's was renewed with a 3-0 vote (only three members were present), while Herrington slipped by with a 2-1 vote. Jerry Bishop cast the only negative ballot for the high school principal.