Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Board Studies Future of GMS Campus

What will become of the former Gurdon Middle School, now that the students have moved to the old Gurdon High School?

There are two possibilities, both of which were discussed by the Gurdon School Board during its regular meeting Tuesday, Jan. 16.

Before any moves were made, the board had verbally agreed to lease the facility to the Clark County Youth Center for $370 per month.

However, Rev. Bobby Marshall has put in an offer to buy the structure for the asking price of $150,000.

Gurdon School Superintendent Bobby Smithson informed the board the lease with the youth center needs to be modified. This is because Arkla Gas Co. has asked the district to start paying $600 per month rent on the building where the In School Suspension (ISS) and Alternative Learning Education (ALE) classes are held.

Smithson said the board could either reduce the rent for the youth center, or pay half the utilities, because the district will need to continue using the gym and cafeteria for ISS and ALE.

He said the Youth Center needs a guarantee of so many months for its lease, and suggested the remainder of the school year.

The center, the board was told, handles the ABC program, adult education and the HIPPY program.

Marshall, though, made a firm offer to the district of $150,000 for the entire facility, including the gym and cafeteria.

He told the board his funding should be coming in soon.

Smithson reminded the panel it had made a verbal agreement with the Youth Center, voted on it and does not want to just sell it out from under it.

However, he said it would be foolish for the district to pay $600 a month in rent while only collecting $370.

Smithson said he would talk to the center's director about the district's need for the gym and cafeteria. The discussion is also to include Marshall's offer and the length of a lease.

Because of the conflicts, the matter was tabled, and a special meeting to address it may be called.

In other business, Smithson gave the board an update on construction projects, telling them the gym is coming along nicely.

He said two-thirds of the brick are up, the lights have been installed and most of the inside walls are up. Phase II of the gym project, he said, should be done by March.

Work on installing the heating and air conditioning units will begin soon.

The canopy project is progressing, the board was told. Smithson said it's important to get this done before the rains set in.

The steel structures are in place, but the posts need to be primed and painted, and the roof panels installed and trimmed. Smithson said this can be done in eight to 10 days.

As far as the move from the former GHS to the new location was concerned, Smithson said all went well, but not without some problems.

He said there isn't enough space for Home Economics in its location; the agri lab isn't ready because the area was used for storage and the cafetorium is getting lined out.

Bruce Burson was on hand to explain his needs for the band department. He had requested several thousand dollars worth of new equipment because of the move.

He said the bands had been sharing equipment when the two schools were so close together, but with the move this isn't possible any longer.

In addition, Burson explained to the board what a tuner was and did. he said the device shows each individual note played on an instrument and can help students tune 12 instruments at a time.

"It's a standard piece of equipment," he said. "It's the most important item on the list. It helps the player see what they're doing."

The other item explained was a metronome, which is a device used to help students keep the beat.

Burson also requested a xylophone, bell and tuba be purchased for the band.

While the tuner will run about $400 and the metronome about 700, the other instruments are more expensive.

However, the board approved buying the equipment for $10,400 as requested.

Smithson then turned to the revolving loan program. He reminded the board it had voted to borrow $100,000 to finish out phase II of the gym project.

He said the paperwork has been completed and turned in and the district should hear something by the end of February.

Should the loan be approved, the district will then owe $160,000 to the program.

The board voted to renew its insurance through the Arkansas School Board Association and the Gallager Co. The ASBA holds the policy on the property, with the premium being $18,615 per year. This includes the new high school facilities as well.

Gallager Co. is the district's liability carrier. It's policy is $1,992 per year.

Smithson said the district will be reducing its coverage on the main GMS building because the contents covered under the policy are no longer there and have been moved.

He said this should result in a reduction on the cost of the policy.

Paperwork has been done on a new school bus for the district. Smithson said the district tries to buy a new bus a year.

While the bids must go through state purchasing, the bus doesn't necessarily have to be bought this way if it doesn't meet the specs.

Smithson suggested buying a transit bus for the band, much like the one used by the football team for road trips.

According to the specs, the bus will seat 71 and requires a Cummins diesel engine. The district allowed $48,000 for the bus.

Smithson said bids are out but haven't came back yet. He said when the bids are received they should be close to the budgeted amount.

The discussion turned to bleachers and goals for the new gym.

Smithson said he has contacted International Paper on the cost of materials to build bleachers and was quoted a price of $16,501 with tax.

On the other hand, he said permanent bleachers, with labor and painting, would run the district between $30 and $35,000.

The board was told there were three bids for folding bleachers, with two from one company.

Interstate School Supply submitted two bids. One, for 1,240 seats with contoured plastic laminant seats providing for a raised ramp and rail was for $99,522.

The other from ISS was for 1,300 plastic laminant seats with no ramp for $95,000.

The other bid, from R.L. Love Enterprises, was for 1,200 plastic laminant seats for $91,987.

Smithson suggested members of the board going to different schools and examining the seats in their gyms from these two companies.

He said the most expensive way to go would most likely be the best, and the district may be getting an unexpected windfall in the near future. This, he said, could help offset the cost of the bleachers.

Goals will run $4,295 for those at either end, while the side goals will cost about $4,2