With school out for the summer, the Eureka Springs School Board met Monday night on a quiet campus. Most of the meeting dealt with routine year-end matters.
The board remained unchanged after the May 24 elections, and they adopted the same slate of officers at the start of the meeting. Chris McClung will remain as president, Al Larson as vice president, and Gayla Wolfinbarger as secretary.
Because of increased minority population, the school district has been divided into five voting districts, with two at-large members. Those two can live anywhere in the school district, but any of the others will have to resign if they move out of their voting district.
Board member Jayme Wildeman’s term will end next year, when she will be eligible to run for another five-year term. Wolfinbarger’s term ends in two years, and she will then be eligible to run for another five-year term. All other board members will serve for five-year terms, but the current board members had to draw lots to stagger their current terms.
Supt. Bryan Pruitt explained that no more than two members will be up for re-election in any year. Candace Spaulding and Chris McClung drew three-year terms, and Larson will have four years remaining. Joe Hill and Jason Morris will serve full five-year terms. The board passed a resolution to establish the terms.
The monthly meetings will remain at 5:30 p.m. on the second Monday of the month. The board had been meeting in the Middle School cafeteria for social distancing, but the meetings have returned to the board room in the administration building.
In other annual business, the board approved a written resolution acknowledging that board member Gayla Wolfinbarger is a part owner of the Inn of the Ozarks, and the school does some business with that organization. If the board considers any business with the Inn, Wolfinbarger will have to recuse from the discussion and the vote.
The board also approved changes to the student handbook, as recommended by the Arkansas School Boards Association. In response to a question, Pruitt explained that the ASBA will legally represent the school if it adopts their policies. Otherwise, the school might be left open to a lawsuit.
In other business:
- The board adopted school improvement plans for the elementary, middle, and high schools. These plans include graduation rates and plans for enrichment, retention, and remediation. The plans will be posted on the school website.
- No local bidders responded to a bid request for 46 new air-handling units for the elementary and middle schools. The units condition and distribute air within a building.
The project, which will use federal funds, has been studied for the past two years. Engineers submitted a plan for state approval before the project went out for bids. The board accepted a bid of $520,000, and work will begin as soon as the company can secure the units.