A crowd of volleyball players and their parents packed the Eureka Springs school board meeting Monday night, filling the seats and spilling over onto the floor. They remained quiet throughout the meeting because they could not get on the agenda.
The protest came after the firing of Coach Penny Pemberton. School board policy requires submitting agenda items eight days before a meeting, and Pemberton’s firing came on Wednesday, Sept. 12.
The board moved quickly through a light agenda, and no one at the table mentioned the crowd. Supt. Bryan Pruitt discussed some needed repairs at the elementary school. “We’d like to spruce that building up a little,” he said. The entryway and administrative offices were upgraded over the summer, but the superintendent listed some other needs, including the cafeteria and light fixtures.
He described the 40-year-old building as “a tad bit dated.”
A new canopy on the east end of the building would help keep preschoolers and their parents dry during pick-up time, Pruitt said. Buses now load behind the elementary school, and a sidewalk and canopy there would also help.
The budget includes $300,000 for the elementary school, and Pruitt received the board’s approval to have an architect draw up proposals. “We need to see what we can do to make our elementary school look fresh, and to be safe and learner-friendly,” he said. Engineers will have to inspect the roof carefully for mold and other problems, because it was originally a flat roof.
The board will still have an opportunity to review the architect’s proposals, and the state will also have to approve the plans.
Pruitt also mentioned the possibility of receiving funds through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to build a safe room. He said FEMA would pay 75 percent of an emergency shelter. The building could hold 800 people, and doors would automatically unlock during a disaster, so the community could take shelter there.
Second-grade teachers Megan Leslie and Karen Colby spoke about the new reading curriculum in the elementary and middle schools, and brought along some sample materials. “We’re all new to this, and we’re all learning,” Leslie said. Facilitators from the American Reading Company have helped the staff implement this new approach to reading. “Angie, our coach, comes tomorrow,” she said. The ARC supplies materials for students, and also provides direct support to teachers.
Leslie said each classroom has “buckets of books,” and students have taken advantage of these resources. “To have so many options is a big deal to them,” she said. Leslie said the main focus comes down to keeping kids engaged while they read. “Our goal is 15-minute periods of completely engaged reading,” she said. Some teachers will start with shorter periods, but the program emphasizes longer periods of engaged reading.
The board voted to buy a Ford Expedition to help with student transport. Pruitt said groups larger than nine students require a bus, but trips often involve only a handful of students. The school can buy the vehicle for $34,000 through state purchasing. Pruitt said the vehicle will be cheaper and easier to operate than a school bus, and will also be cheaper than paying 45 cents per mile for coaches or teachers to use their own vehicles.
The board also voted to buy a new school bus for $97,000.