Board OKs Bids For New Gym

PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove School Board approved two items totaling more than $100,000 for the high school’s new competitive basketball gym at its March 16 meeting.

Board members approved a sound system for $ 58,511 from Commercial Audio System and scoreboards for almost $45,000 from Rainey Electronics. The scoreboard proposal includes two large scoreboards and three smaller boards.

The board changed a decision made at a previous meeting for the ramp and stairs leading into the new gymnasium. The board had decided to use bricks for the entrance way but then voted last week to go back to an earlier design and use rubbed concrete with a Thoro-Coat finish. Allen Williams, superintendent, said the school would save about $60,000 to $70,000 by using rubbed concrete and the savings could be used in other areas for the project.

The board approved a pre-school grant from the Endeavor Foundation for $291,600 over a three-year period and approved a resolution to use federal aid transportation funds for new sidewalks in and around campus.

Board members approved a recommendation to make up the district’s five snow days by adding four days to the end of the school calendar and going to school an extra hour for six days.

In other business, School Board approved the 2015-16 school calendar. The first day of class will be Aug. 17. Students will be out the week of Thanksgiving and have two weeks for Christmas break. The last day of school will be May 25, 2016.

Following executive session, the board voted to hire transportation director William Dixon as maintenance director on a temporary basis for the remainder of the year. Dixon will receive a $1,000 per month stipend retroactive to March 1 until June 30. Williams said the board would then make a decision at the end of the period on whether to leave Dixon handling both responsibilities or to search for a new maintenance director.