Board members hear Promise update, approve low bids and salary schedule
EL DORADO — El Dorado High School graduates who have received El Dorado Promise scholarship funds are currently attending 71 different colleges and universities. A full Promise scholarship – for students who have attended El Dorado schools from kindergarten through graduation – pays up to $8,427.30 per year for an EHS graduate to attend college.
Sylvia Thompson, director of the El Dorado Promise, which is a $50 million scholarship gift from Murphy Oil Corp. to EHS graduates and began with the 2007 EHS graduating class, updated members of the El Dorado School Board about the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Promise held earlier this year, during the board’s July meeting Monday night.
The top five schools that 2016-17 Promise graduates are attending include South Arkansas Community College, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Southern Arkansas University, the University of Central Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Other schools with top attendance numbers are Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Ouachita Baptist University, Henderson State University, University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Arkansas State University.
Since the Promise scholarship was first awarded to EHS graduates, students have attended 129 colleges and universities in 29 states and have graduated from 39 different colleges and universities, Thompson said.
She explained that a twoyear pilot College and Career Coaches program, a two-year pilot program, was started during the last school year to help prepare students to attend college after high school graduation. The El Dorado School District is partnering with South Arkansas Community College to provide the program for students.
The 10-year anniversary of the Promise was celebrated during the week of Jan. 17-20, 2017 and included a day to honor all school district employees; a college day for representatives to visit with El Dorado School District students; a career day when students dressed for their future careers; a Purple Promise day and a pep rally on the Union County Courthouse square in downtown El Dorado, attended by about 500 residents.
The community celebration, “A Decade of Promise,” was held Feb. 2 and included guest speaker, Liz Murray, author of “Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard;” along with Governor Asa Hutchinson, with remarks from Bob Watson, former superintendent and Jim Tucker, current superintendent of the El Dorado School District.
Also during Monday night’s meeting, board members welcomed the newest board member, Shaneil Yarbrough, who was appointed to the position after Chris Lutman announced his resignation in June from the board because he has moved from the district he represented. Justin Small, the new director of maintenance, was also welcomed to the school district.
Low bids from Sewell Oil Co. to purchase gasoline at 12 cents above rack price and to purchase diesel at $.035 above rack price were approved by board members, along with the low bid of $71,073 from Ketcher and Co., Inc., of North Little Rock,
to replace the roof on the Administration Building.
Members of the board approved licensed and classified employee salary schedules – the same as the 2016-17 schedule. A first-time teacher with a bachelor’s degree will be paid $35,000 annually and a first-time teacher with a master’s degree plus 30 hours will start out making $38,675 a year. Pay increases each year up to 16 years for teachers with a bachelor’s degree — $42,850; up to 17 years for a teacher with a master’s degree, $46,625; 18 years for a master’s degree plus 12 hours, $47,475; for a master’s degree plus 24 hours and 19 years of teaching the pay will be $48,325 and a 20-year teacher with a master’s degree plus 30 hours will receive $49,175 annually.
Board members approved one petition for a transfer request for a student to attend school in the Parkers Chapel School District from the El Dorado School District.
They also made several announcements of upcoming events including the Southern Region Leadership Conference to be held from July 16-18 at the Hot Springs Convention Center; the New Teacher Breakfast, set for 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 3 at the El Dorado Golf and Country Club and the opening session for licensed staff at 8 a.m. on Aug. 9 at the EHS Fine Arts Auditorium.
Following an executive session of the board, members accepted 13 resignations and authorized the employment of 10 persons. They accepted the resignations of Rachel Moore, Retta Brown Elementary and Washington Middle School, effective May 5; Bernadette O’Guinn, Northwest and Hugh Goodwin, effective May 25; Julian Jones, Barton Junior High, effective May 25; Amber Lawrence, EHS, business education, effective June 13; Laurie Sadler, Retta Brown, effective June 15; Varonica Kennedy, Retta Brown, effective June 15; Welsey Corkins, Hugh Goodwin, effective June 27; Jessie Cantrell, EHS, effective July 5; Chase Cantrell, EHS, effective July 5; Lauren Hickman, Barton, effective July 5; Janice Zeigler, Yocum, effective June 12; Jenni Graves, Yocum, effective June 18 and Dorinda
Stephens, Washington, effective June 8.
They authorized employment of: Elizabeth Higgins, Washington; Brooke Gullett, Washington; Madison Finley, EHS; Emily McDaniel, Washington; Kanedria Andrews, Barton; Rachael Gavin, Washington; Anna Reynolds, EHS; Josh Baldwin, Yocum and Melissa Laird, Yocum, all to begin Aug. 1 and Alex Holt, EHS, to begin July 13.