Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Nevada Schools Expect Drop In Enrollment

Nevada High School's business lab will be getting updated in the near future.

Nevada Superintendent Rick McAffee told the Nevada School Board at its regular meeting Thursday, July 15, the lab has not been updated in the last five years.

He also informed the panel the district doesn't have the funds to upgrade all 50 computers at one time. At this time, he said, five of the systems meet state regulations.

The board agreed to let bids to get 17 more computers upgraded, and do the remainder of them next year.

The systems, once upgraded, will be DVD capable.

McAffee will be looking for grants to help offset the cost of repairs to the computers. The district will also be applying for vocational funds to help with the upgrades.

In discussing a new phone system, McAffee told the board the specifications have been worked out and bids should be in soon. Once the bids have been submitted, the district will examine them and see if a new system is affordable.

If so, McAffee said, the district will have to "get on the ball" to have the new phones in by the time school starts.

A new copier was purchased with Title VI funds and is housed in the administration offices. It will be used for special education.

McAffee told the panel the district's ending financial balance is down $25,000 from last year, but paying off the copier and a new car are the reasons for this shortage, so there is no cause for alarm.

However, he continued, local revenue on property taxes is also down and the district receives no state money in July.

In June, he said, the total revenue as down by $39,000 from 1998 to 1999. Part of the reason for these losses is the decline in student population.

Student population is expected to drop again this year, McAffee told the board.

As soon as the district receives the financial figures from the state on how much money it can expect to receive for the 1999-2000 academic year, the school budget will be adjusted accordingly.

McAffee said all public schools in the state are losing students, so when the state makes its budgetary adjustments, any losses will be balanced out by equalized funding.

In other business, Natalie Sherwood, Nevada Elementary Principal, said summer school went nicely. A total of 48 students attended in grades K-6.

Jim Cross, maintenance and transportation supervisor, said it has been an interesting summer, but the maintenance crews are ahead of schedule on planned repairs and projects.

McAffee lauded the maintenance crews for the job they've done over the summer months, saying the halls and walls look good.

He told of a group of teachers who went to Atlanta, Ga., for a conference on the High Schools That Work program. Nevada was in the second group of schools to become members of this program.

The program, he said, helps students plan their high school careers by having them choose a course path at the end of their eighth grade year.

However, he said, this path is not etched in stone and can be changed. Should a student first decide to try the vocational route, they can later change their mind and take college preparatory classes.

McAffee said this has been a good program for Nevada, with most of the students changing going from the vocational courses to college classes.

When a student nears the end of their eighth grade year, faculty and counselors meet with the student and parents to see what course of study is wanted for the high school years.

Both college prep and vocational courses carry the same core requirements, so making the change isn't difficult later on.

But, McAffee said, in many instances students can also earn college credit for taking classes at the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope (UACCH).

In fact, he said, students can take enough courses to have their first semester of college completed by the time they graduate from high school. Then, when they enter college, they will be second semester freshmen.

Another benefit of the program, he said, is the students can be counted as double attendance. This means both NHS and UACCH get credit for having the student in class.

After a brief executive session, McAffee said the board accepted two resignations, as two teachers have accepted other jobs.

Medical leave of up to one year was granted to an ailing elementary school instructor, with Sandra Browning being reassigned as an elementary counselor and Dee Godwin being moved from first to sixth grade as a teacher.

In order to fill vacancies at the elementary level, as well as examine bids for the proposed new phone system, the board will hold a special called meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 22.