Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Early Graduation, Lunch Prices Issue At Emmet Schools

Students at Emmet Elementary will have new handbooks when school starts Aug. 18.

The handbook will primarily be the same as the one for high school students, but will have the school's mission statement and information concerning corporal punishment.

According to Superintendent Gene Ross, different terminology will be used in the new handbooks explaining what the district does about punishing students.

It also has information spelling out what the district will do in areas of health to make sure students aren't exposed to contagious diseases.

At this time, many parents don't know Emmet has an in school suspension (ISS) policy, what it is or how it works. This data has been added to the handbook.

An ACT workshop was offered for students this summer, with two taking advantage of it.

Dr. Ross said the district will be taking bids on foods to try and get better prices. At this time, there are two vendors supplying the district.

If something doesn't happen, Dr. Ross said, the district may have to transfer money from the operating fund to the lunch fund and help offset the cost of lunches and not raise the prices.

It was pointed out petitions for school elections are due by Aug. 9. The election will be held Sept. 21, but only one person on the Emmet board, Glenda Fulton, is up for reelection.

The panel also discussed early graduation for those students who complete all course requirements early.

These students, the board decided, cannot be the class valedictorian or salutatorian regardless of their grade point average.

There have been two students in the past three years who have graduated early after taking college classes at the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope (UACCH). These classes also counted as high school credit.

The board agreed a student, in order to be either valedictorian or salutatorian, had to spend their senior year at EHS.

This discussion was followed by a talk about when and how students should be given licks as opposed to detention, suspension or ISS.

Both principals agreed most students would rather take licks than be sent to detention, but there are some parents in the district who don't want their children to be spanked. Other parents, though, have said they want to be notified before a spanking is given, but approve of the discipline.

Dr. Ross said there are five offenses resulting in students being spanked or suspended. Those are having fireworks on campus, theft, leaving campus, fighting or bringing a weapon on campus.

He also explained the guidelines involved before a child is spanked. These are first telling the child what they did. Then, a witness is required.

No child may be spanked in front of other children, and licks are to be administered to the lower part of the posterior only.

The possibility of having a Saturday school was brought up as a method of helping with discipline.

The board agreed whoever taught the Saturday school would have to be strict.

This will be examined and discussed again, with the policy to be amended at a later date should a Saturday school be adopted.

Bids for milk, bread, fire extinguishers and carpet cleaning were accepted by the panel.

Borden's was the low bidder for milk, while Flowers was the only bidder on bread. Boothman of Texarkana submitted the low bid for carpet cleaning, while Hope Fire was awarded the fire extinguisher bid.

Under the Title VI program, Emmet will begin with an electronic bookshelf project. In this project, students read books and are tested on them by using a computer program which grades their retention and learning level.

A reading recovery program will be instituted for first graders under the Title I program, with the idea of expanding the electronic bookshelf to all who fail to score above the 50th percentile on standardized tests.

The final order of business was to pass the proposed budget for the year 2000-01 as required by state law.

Dr. Ross said this budget can be amended, but the state requires school districts show what their millage will be then.

Eleven- and Twelve-Year-Old Little League Allstars