Green Forest board taking cautious approach on salary schedule

The Green Forest School District is proceeding carefully with its new salary schedule for the 2023-2024 school year, according to Superintendent Matt Summers.

The district’s school board approved a new salary schedule that includes a $2,000 raise for those certified staff members already making $48,000 or more and a $700 base increase for classified positions, plus an additional $400 step increase for those classified staff who haven’t already maxed out on the salary step schedule, Summers said.

“We’re taking a very cautious approach to this,” he said. “Our salary schedules change every year anyway because we always are adding money to the base and increasing steps and all of that. So, when you look at it, it looks stagnant. It will be amended next year and every year thereafter and if changes occur.

“We know, in fact, that the ’23-’24 school year is funded. We know the ’24-’25 school year will be funded. Beyond that, there’s nothing set in stone guaranteed. The people in our district are going to be making more money than they ever have, but we didn’t want to jump out there and throw a big number on top and then years from now we’ve got a problem. If we see we have more funds than we calculated we can always come back and do a bonus.”

The board also approved spending $29,800 to again purchase school supplies for students for the 2023-2024 school year.

“We’ve done that for many, many years,” Summers said. “We don’t do a school supply list where it says you need 20 No. 2 pencils and a ruler, all that kind of stuff. We try to handle the needs. Now, it’s the needs, not the wants that we’re talking. Crayons, pencils, erasers, that type of stuff.”

Summers said the district will spend $7,700 for supplies at the elementary school, $6,900 at the intermediate school, $7,400 at the middle school and $7,800 at the high school.

“When a kid comes to school those are sitting on their desk and we’re ready to go,” he said.

The board approved a $25 ACT summer prep program that will be June 5-8, the superintendent said.

“It’s for students wanting to improve their ACT score,” Summers said. “It’s just an inclusive little camp and in the past we’ve tracked our records and we on average see an increase of three points in the ACT scores. So, it’s well worth the $25 when you think of it as someone who has a 22 score now and they increase it to a 25 and they’re getting scholarship money.”

The board also approved summer school credit recovery classes; Camp Invention, a camp designed to identify gifted and talented students in grades 4-6; and migrant education summer school for students in kindergarten through eighth grade who are a part of the migrant program.

Revamping the district’s in-school suspension program also received the board’s OK.

“We’ve had in-school suspension forever and we’ve always filled that with a non-certified employee,” Summers said. “We have decided to make that a certified position and write a new job description.

“We’re looking to totally revamp that program and gain some educational time of out it. Even though it’s a disciplinary situation we want to do it like an exit interview process about making sure they don’t come back and try to eliminate repeat offenders.”

The board also approved a recent safety and security audit that happens annually.

Personnel actions approved include the retirement of Ben West, resignations of Ger Kler and Roselyn Wilson, transfers of Leksi Massey (from third grade to first grade), Ashley Massengale (from third grade to first grade), Hannah Doty (to fifth grade) and the hires of Jennifer Roney (fifth grade), Michelle Blevins (first grade), Allison Fancher (first grade), Beth Summers (second grade), Michelle Knapp (second grade), Jerry Magee (high school special education), Emma Gilstrap (high school English), Brynna Morgan (high school English), Kassidy Bell (intermediate paraprofessional), Cassandra Simmons (elementary paraprofessional) and Marianna Hardin (contract employee).