ST. JOE — The Ozark Mountain School District held its regular meeting Thursday, Aug. 17, at the St. Joe campus.
The meeting was called to order and the minutes from the July meeting were approved unanimously.
The monthly financial report showed the district is in strong financial shape, and should remain solid with the savings from running one high school as opposed to three.
Ken Rich from the Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC) attended via live stream and confirmed the state of the finances of the district.
Next, Dan Lovelady from First Security spoke to the board and offered his expertise in school finances and planning. Lovelady explained that the funding per student for the 2023-24 school year would be $7,618 per student. This is slightly higher than the $7,413 funding per student in previous years.
He explained that mils are set to expire in 2027 and the school needs to plan to get voters on board to extend the funding.
The board will find out if the new campus is approved in May or June of 2024. If funding is approved, monies will arrive in 2025. Partnerships for construction must commit without knowing if funding is approved or not.
The next few months will involve making preliminary decisions and making plans for the new school.
Board members have been instructed to begin looking for suitable properties for the new school location. The main concerns will be septic facilities, highway and utility access and visibility. It was revealed that in Arkansas, schools may purchase property and buildings without prior permission, but selling is much more difficult. Selling property or assets requires review and permission from the state.
The board entered into executive session to discuss personnel, returning at 8:44 p.m. to announce that Dr. Linda Trice will be on hand as Psychological Examiner; Sharon McCutcheon will be a Level I cook at Western Grove; Melissa Smith will be reassigned to teaching Business at the new high school.
The board announced an expected 13 students transferring in to the district and 5 students leaving. The enrollment total at this time is 529 students, which is the same as last year.
Entergy continues to send bills with errors on them since the solar farm began operations.
Graduation is proposed to be held at North Arkansas College. Dates and times will be announced at a later date.
