Board considers exchange student request, tables vote on classroom project
GRAVETTE — At a special meeting held August 4, members of the Gravette school board approved the request of Federico Goi to attend Gravette High School as an exchange student. Federico is from northern Italy and is sponsored through the ASSE - International Exchange Student Programs.
Chris Hyndman, Federico’s host parent, attended the meeting and presented the request. Jay Chalk, high school principal, said that, because of this approval, he felt he should contact four exchange students who had been rejected and see if they had found other schools. If not, they would also be considered for acceptance. A limit of four exchange students had been set three years ago and those four slots had been filled. Goi will make the fifth student and the limit of four policy will be revisited in the September school board meeting.
The board also approved four student transfers, three for students transferring in and the other for a student transferring to Bentonville. The three students transferring in have been in the Gravette school system already but moved to Bentonville and wanted to remain in Gravette schools.
In other action, board members voted to hire Roy Blakeslee and Gerry Sizemore as bus drivers, Everett Thompson as full-time substitute bus driver and Sara Clayton as pre-K assistant. Clayton’s salary will be paid from ABC grant and Endeavor grant funds.
The majority of the meeting was spent discussing the recommendation for construction at the upper elementary school. Michael Spaeth, from BiLD Architects, was present at the meeting. He had met with Richard Carver, head of the custodial and maintenance departments, and Mandy Barrett, upper elementary principal, to determine current uses of space at the school, needs and planned uses of space for this fall. Spaeth showed diagrams he had prepared showing the current uses of space at the upper elementary building and proposed uses for the upcoming school year.
Mandy Barrett spoke briefly, outlining some of the needs, including a computer lab, separate rooms for speech and Title I students, Ozarks Guidance Center counseling and GATE classes and increased library space. She emphasized that the school is out of room. Jim Singleton, school board president, said that the facilities committee had taken their time, had met and made their recommendation and encouraged the board to accept that recommendation.
Board member Jack Skillett expressed concerns about the cost of the project and the addition of two classrooms and asked that details about that cost, total square footage and shared spaces be presented to each board member. Board member Susan Santos, who was absent from the previous meeting, requested more time to study the BiLD diagrams.
Board members voted to table the issue until the regular board meeting Aug. 15 and Singleton specified that it would be made an action item at that meeting and a vote would definitely be taken.