Malvern School Board Meeting
Malvern School District held their monthly School Board meeting Monday evening at the district’s central Administration Office, located at 1620 S. Main St. in Malvern. The agenda was packed with preliminary budget approvals for special education and food service, tentative discussions about what to do with a swath of unused property, good news about a safety grant and a new campus health provider, recognition for outstanding students, and nods to several programs that have showed improvement in standardized testing. The first order of business was the presentation of the Student of the Month Awards, bestowed each month to standout MSD students who’ve been nominated by their teachers for exemplary behavior and character. Superintendent, Mike Golden, handed out gifts to each student, courtesy of the Malvern Leopard Foundation. Students received certificates of award, $25 gift cards and MSD bags from Golden as MSD Dir. of School Improvement, Velda Keeney, read excerpts about the chosen student from the nomination forms handed in by the teachers. Three MSD administrators were presented with certificates for Outstanding Educational Performance on their respective campuses, “based on their 2022 content growth scores by ADE,” said MSD Assistant Superintendent, Lillian Harper. “It’s always a great thing when we can be recognized for positives in the community,” she said as she presented MHS Assistant Principal Manuel Bulhoes, MHS Principal Jennifer Shnaekel and MMS Principal Ben Dial with certificates recognizing the MHS ELA program, the high school’s Math program, and the MMS Math program for their achievements. Also on the agenda was an opening discussiong pertaining to the old MJHS property, which is still part of the district’s holdings but is not in heavy use for much these days except but storage. Golden pointed out that they would need a vote to approve the transaction, but the conversation had Monday evening was simply a way to start the process of consideration. No plans have been made, and the subject will be broached again at a later date. Officials next spoke about a school safety grant the district will be receiving, with plans to install a double door entrance at the Wilson Intermediate School building for added security. Other measures, such as a tech-savvy visitor sign-in system and the addition of concrete buffers in
front of the high school cafeteria, will not be covered by the grant but are steps administrators hope to take further down the road, when additional funding can be procured. Keeney informed everyone in attendance that the current campus-based heatlh provider, Healthstar, will be leaving the district. Their last day onsite is set to be May 18. “We’ve contacted providers here in our community and in the surrounding areas, and we have found a provider that is going to come in and do a very good job for our clinic,” Keeney said. Keeney noted that private practitioners cannot do a lot of the things that federally-qualified health centers like the new provider, Arcare, will be able to do. “They can offer a sliding scale based on your income, whereas a private practice can’t do that. They can provide immunizations for all students, not just those with Medicaid, but for all students,” she said. “They also can provide additional mental health services for us if we need additional school-based mental health services in our schools, which I will tell you, we do need them,” Keeney said, noting that she has given out around 300 student referrals pertaining to mental health issues this school year. “It is something that is very much needed, and to have a provider that can come in and provide those services is very important for us,” she said. “They also have social workers that can come in for Open Houses and other events, and help parents fill out forms if they need help filling out forms,” she said. “There’s just so many things that they can do that are going to be beneficial to our students, that we’re excited to have them come into our clinic.” Keeney said there may be a lull in available services during the transition between providers, but officials expect the campus-based Arcare clinic to be fully operational by August 1. Members in attendance discussed some of the many policy updates that will be finalized later in the summer to keep in line with the Arkansas School Boards Association. The student handbook and policies related the students, faculty, administration and curriculum will all be voted on in June and brought before the board for final approval before the 2023-24 school season commences in August. More information about the current policies be found on the district’s website. Several members of the “Malvern Citizens for Positive Change” civic group made a point of attending the meeting, in response to policies they say hinder racial equity goals in hiring and retention within the school district. Members of the group attempted to get formally added to the meeting’s agenda earlier this week but were informed that per district policy, they were too late to speak at this month’s meeting because anyone seeking to be included in the agenda must petition the board president, via the school district superintendent, a full five business days before the meeting. It is unclear whether the group will appear at next month’s meeting. School Board members also briefly discussed a small handful of resignations and other staffing changes that will take effect between now and the coming school year, after which the meeting was adjourned. The next MSDSB meeting will take place June 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the board room at the district’s central Administration Office. For more information, call -501-332-7500 or check out the Malvern School District website, www.malvernleopards.org.