Holmes Gives Start Of School Report

PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove School District started its new year up by 14 students, compared to the same time last year, with three grades nearing capacity, Reba Holmes, superintendent of schools, told School Board members at their Aug. 20 meeting.

Holmes said the fifth day enrollment was 2,040, including 40 pre-kindergarten students, but 17 students on the rolls have not shown up yet for class. After the 10th day, schools are allowed to drop no shows.

The district does not need to hire any new teachers yet but Holmes said schools are four students away from needing to hire teachers for first, third and fifth grades.

Holmes’ report on the opening of school was part of a fairly busy agenda for the board’s monthly meeting.

Assistant Superintendent Pete Joenks reviewed Prairie Grove test results for the 2018-19 ACT Aspire exams. Students in third-ninth grades took ACT Aspire tests on readiness in science, reading, English and math.

Of the 29 out of 32 results, Prairie Grove students performed better than the state average, Joenks told board members. The two areas below the state average were fifth grade English and 10th grade science and reading.

Joenks’ handout included a survey of Prairie Grove test results compared to most school districts in Northwest Arkansas. He pointed out Prairie Grove is in a part of the state where schools do “very well” on the ACT Aspire tests.

“We’re in a unique part of our state,” Joenks said.

In particular, Joenks noted the district’s seventh grade students did well compared to schools that included Fayetteville, Farmington, Pea Ridge, Berryville and Gravette.

Looking at the “big picture,” Prairie Grove needs to improve in science and reading, Joenks said.

“More and more this testing is asking for kids to be able to analyze,” Joenks said.

Analysis is quite different from tests in years past when students could just memorize definitions, he added.

The board approved a motion to submit an application to the Arkansas Department of Education to refund a Nov. 1, 2015, bond issue and sell new bonds at a lower rate of interest and to employ First Security Beardsley as fiscal agent for the transaction.

A draft copy of the proposal shows the district would save $385,000 in interest the first year with a total savings of almost $429,497 over the life of the $9.1 million bond issue. The projected interest rate is around 2.55%, Holmes said. The total debt with principal and interest is estimated to be $12 million.

The projected debt payment for the refunded bond issue is around $520,000 per year, except for the first year, which is an estimated $45,000, according to the draft proposal.

Dan Lovelady with First Security Bearsley said by phone last week the transaction is called a “savings refunding” and just came up as a result of lower interest rates. The firm has penciled in Oct. 8 as the date of sale. Lovelady said the school board is not bound to go through with the bond refund if interest rates are not favorable.

The board tabled a request from Flood Janitorial to increase the custodial contract by 10% for an additional $24,350 for the next two years. Board member Shawn Shrum said he would like for the contract to be more defined as far as responsibilities.

David Kellogg, assistant superintendent, said the current contract was negotiated in 2012, and the last time the district advertised for custodial bids was April 2009.

Kellogg said the firm has been good to work with, responds well to requests and goes above and beyond.

The reason for the increase, according to the request, was the rising minimum wage, increased cost of consumable products provided by the firm and additional cleaning responsibilities during the year and the summer. The request also notes the firm has not received a cost of living adjustment during the past seven school years.

Shrum said he did not doubt an increase was needed but thought the board should look at the contract.

The board also approved bids for two roofing projects at the high school for $146,495 and a roofing project at the administration building for $86,600.

In the consent agenda, the board hired a junior high paraprofessional and approved 30 student transfers: 9 students into the district and 21 students leaving the district.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Nora Cole, 7, a second-grader at Prairie Grove Elementary School, walks into the building with her mom, Kara Cole, on the first day of school, Aug. 14. Her dad, Adam Cole, and younger sister, Frankie, 4, are behind them. The elementary school had about 820 students on the first day of class, including pre-kindergarten students.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Hannah Creech, a sixth-grader at Prairie Grove Middle School, walks in on her first day of school Aug. 14, with fog in the background. Heavy fog covered the area that morning. The middle school had 318 students on the first day of class. The junior high building next door had 305 seventh- and eighth-graders on its first day.