SSSD to add Main Street Academy

■ The district’s contract with Northstar Institute LLC ends in June.

The Siloam Springs School District will no longer be contracting with Northstar Institute LLC for alternative learning services. Instead, Main Street Academy, the alternative high school that serves the district, will become a school department.

School board members voted to accept the change during a special meeting on Monday evening.

Superintendent Ken Ramey said that Gary Markovich, owner of Northstar Institute, contacted him in March and announced his plans to retire after a 19-year partnership with the district. The company’s contract with the district is set to expire on June 30, and the company does not intend to renew the contract for

the 2017-2018 school year, Markovich wrote in a letter to Ramey, dated March 7.

“I would like to express gratitude on behalf of Northstar Institute LLC for the wonderful relationship our organizations have enjoyed over the years,” Markovich wrote. “It is now my desire to retire and spend many days traveling.”

Main Street Academy serves 65 to 75 Siloam Springs High School students a year, and up to 15 Gentry High School students, Ramey said. The Gentry School District plans to continue sending students to the school, he said.

Under the current contract, Northstar Institute’s services cost the district $569,625.50 per year, which includes an overhead cost of $17,500 for building rent and maintenance. Staff members at Main Street’s salary will now be paid out of district funds and will be subject to the same salary schedules and eligibility for the same benefits as other teachers.

The projected cost of salaries and benefits for Main Street Academy staff, including gross salary, retirement, dental insurance, health insurance and taxes, for next year is $617,125.67. The district will also be responsible for overhead costs and rent.

Gentry will contribute approximately $105,000 toward the costs and other funding will come from the state and the National School Lunch fund. The new arrangement could end up costing the Siloam Springs School District between $10,000 and $30,000 more than the current contract with Northstar Institute, but Ramey said it will likely end up being revenue neutral.

School board members voted to create 10 new fulltime teaching positions for the current staff members at Main Street Academy. The teachers will have to go through the process of reapplying for their jobs, but they will also be eligible for insurance and retirement benefits, Ramey said.

The board also approved the creation of two new certified teaching positions and two paraprofessional positions to staff the four new prekindergarten classrooms that are being built at Northside Elementary. The preschool is funded through the Arkansas Better Chance program, which will cover the cost of the salaries.

In addition, the board approved the creation of several new certified staff positions to accommodate growth, including three new elementary school teaching positions, one counseling position and one secondary teaching position, as well as two teaching positions that will be left open in case of unexpected growth.

The school board took the following additional actions:

• Approved hiring Amber Carter for the position of scholarship director.

• Approved hiring Sandi Colvin for the position of high school counselor.

• Approved hiring Susan Henderson for the position of speech-language pathologist at Southside Elementary School.

• Accepted the resignation of intermediate school teacher Haley Emerick.

• Accepted the resignation of Southside Elementary School teacher Marilyn Denton.

• Accepted the resignation of Allen Elementary School instructional facilitator Jennifer Hale.

• Accepted the resignation of Southside Elementary School teacher Angela Lubritz.

• Approved the transfer of two students from the Siloam Springs School District to the Gentry School District.