Green Forest board approves bid to replace Alumni Center flooring

The Green Forest School Board approved a series of measures at its regular meeting on Monday, Feb. 20, including one that will refurbish a heavily used facility.

The board approved a bid of $25,698.92 from J&J Flooring to replace the all-purpose flooring at the Alumni Center.

The flooring, which has been in place since the multipurpose building opened in 2004, will be replaced over the summer with a “very heavy luxury vinyl tile with a wood grain formation,” according to Green Forest Superintendent Matt Summers.

“It will look like an actual gym floor,” Summers said.

The Alumni Center is a separate building used for many things, including the site for daily breakfast and lunches for kindergarten through fifth grade and after- school activities such as band and choir concerts.

“Little kids youth sports also use it,” Summers said. “Basketball practices, cheerleaders practice, it’s truly a multipurpose facility and that flooring has seen its day. It’s definitely time to move forward.”

Summers said the cost approved by the board is for the materials only. District staff will do the labor of removing the existing floor and installing the new surface.

“We’re going to have the basketball lines painted … and will also have the Green Forest logo in the center,” Summers said.

INITIAL TALKS ON FIELDS

The board also had discussions regarding the softball and baseball fields at the city park, which suffered damage to fencing and lights during last fall’s tornado in the area.

Summers said the city’s insurance is helping get fencing at both fields replaced, but isn’t sufficient to cover the replacement of lights, which could cost as much as $400,000.

“Even if the city’s insurance was covering it, there’s no way you could have it done by the start of the season,” he said.

Summers said there are preliminary discussions with the city about the district possibly taking on the property “instead of that being a city piece.”

“We’re in negotiations with the city and the city council,” he said. “It’s just discussion … it’s something the city would have to agree on and of course the school district would have to agree on.”

Summers said the talks involve the district taking possession of the property and “100 percent of the capital.”

“Obviously we’re looking at large amounts of money needing to be pumped into those facilities,” he said. “No decision has been made, but I just wanted our board to be aware.”

Because of the fields not having lights for the upcoming seasons, Summers said only non-conference games for the Tigers and Lady Tigers will be placed at the city park.

“Home non-conference games will be played here with varsity games first and then we will play as much of a junior varsity game as we can with the light that is allowable before darkness sets in,” Summers said.

Since all conference games are doubleheaders, those home games for softball and baseball are scheduled to be played at the Harrison Sports Complex with the possibility of a home conference baseball game or two being played at Berryville, Summers said.

“We could get the first game [of the doubleheader] in, but no way we could get the second game in,” he said.

INSURANCE CHANGE

The board also voted to opt out of insurance portability, meaning it would no longer provide summer insurance coverage for teachers who leave the district, Summers said.

“We were one of the few holdouts in still doing that,” he said. “If a teacher transfers or goes to another school district, we will not cover their insurance through the summer.”

Summers said moving forward insurance will end at the end of a teacher’s current contract in June. The biggest reason for the change, he said, was because of the rising costs to the district for health coverage.

“The employee could decide that they want to continue to keep their policy and pay their rate or switch to another c ompany or COBRA,” Summers said. “There are several different models which we counsel them on as they leave our district.

“It’s just difficult in the ever-increasing price market to pay $600 per employee that’s leaving and not staying in the district.”

LONGTIME EMPLOYEE RETIRING

The personnel portion of the meeting involved many district employees, highlighted by the announcement of the retirement of longtime district employee Danette Chaney.

Chaney, who has been the principal at Green Forest Elementary School the past 12 years, will be retiring when her current contract expires in June.

“She has been a great one and we appreciate her many years of service,” Summers said. “She’s definitely left her mark and has left a great legacy here at Green Forest Schools, especially Green Forest Elementary.”

Other personnel changes the board approved included:

• End of 2022-2023 contract for paraprofessional Linda Otwell, elementary teacher Devyn Doyle and middle school special education teacher Karen Kinard;

• Resignation effective Feb. 6 of high school English teacher Dusty Lee;

• Termination of high school ISS instructor Michael Sprouse;

• Transfer of custodian Hilda High to special education paraprofessional;

• Hires of long-term substitute Megan Underwood, custodian Roselyn Wilson and special education paraprofessional Yeslin Gaspar;

• and contract renewals for Terry Darnell, Director of Instruction/Federal Programs/Coordinator/Instructional Facilitator and half-time principal; Chandra Anderson, grades 4-5 principal, 1/2 instructional facilitator and grades 7-12 literacy; Adam Wade, grade 6-8 principal, 1/2 instructional facilitator, grade 7-12 literacy; Tim Booth, grades 9-12 principal; Trish Evans, special education supervisor; Greg Tibbitt, athletic director/ teacher; James Smith, maintenance supervisor; Eddie Phillips, transportation supervisor; Shelly Fultz, child nutritionist director; and Stephen Crewse, technology coordinator.

NEXT MEETING

The next board meeting will be Monday, March 13, a week earlier than usual because of Spring Break.