Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Nevada School Board Hears Report

It was a difficult choice for the Nevada School Board.

Its members had to decide to meet in regular session Thursday, Feb. 15, of to move the meeting to another night.

What happened was the meeting Thursday was moved to 5:15 p.m. to allow administrators, and board members who wanted to, to attend the district basketball tournament in Genoa.

Nevada Superintendent Rick McAfee said according to Arkansas Activities Association rules, an administrator is required to be at athletic events the school is participating in.

This also meant the meeting was kept relatively short.

Elementary Principal Natalie Sherwood said her area has finished a grant application for an after school program. The application has been sent to the Arkansas Department of Health for review.

In addition, elementary representatives went to the opening of the South Arkansas Regional Health Center in Magnolia recently. This facility also helps with mental health problems.

Sherwood said there is no mental health clinic in Nevada County, and the Magnolia facility will be a big help.

NHS Principal Hardy Herrington had good news for the board. He said NHS received a grant for $3,600 for English deficient students, along with a plaque praising the school on its efforts to improve the teaching and learning climate.

He said this plaque is for the school's work with at-risk students, and not only those with physical and/or mental handicaps.

Jim Cross, transportation director, said if all goes according to schedule the district should be receiving the bus it ordered around March 1.

McAfee said the elementary school is going through the Comprehensive Outcome Evaluation (COE) process for its Outcome Accreditation (OA) team.

Nevada School, he said, is one of the first in Arkansas seeking this OA accreditation.

In fact, the five members on the team were approved to make a trip to Chicago, Ill. March 24-27 (during spring break) to make the school's presentation to the North Central Association.

McAfee said the board will get copies of a preliminary budget for the 1996-97 school year at its next meeting.

Hopefully, he said, the county will have turned in its tax assessments to the state. Until this is done, McAfee told the board, state aid can't be projected for the district.

On the other hand, he brought some good news to the table concerning taxes as well. McAfee said taxes exceeded projections by about $7,600, so the district will be receiving more than originally expected.

He said because of the board's prudence and foresight, the district will have enough funds to make it through the summer when there is no state funding.

In addition, the band will be getting new instruments soon. The panel agreed to purchase the instruments and the loan from the revolving loan program came in.

"The money is officially here," McAfee said. The instruments will be purchased from the low bidder, Lovall Music, of Texarkana, at a cost of $23,000.

Because of the basketball tournament and the fact two members were unable to attend the meeting due to the time change, personnel matters were deferred until the March 21 meeting.

This meeting will begin at 6 p.m., and be the final time until Daylight Savings Time returns, this occurs.

The April meeting will start at 7 p.m. unless something happens causing a change.