PRAIRIE GROVE -- Prairie Grove School District will be able to transfer almost $700,000 to its building fund for the 2017-18 school year, according to Allen Williams, superintendent of schools.
Williams gave an end-of-year financial report to the Prairie Grove School Board on July 31.
The school was able to transfer that much money for several reasons, Williams explained.
Expenses for the year came in under revenue by $450,000. In addition, Williams said the school received more in revenue than budgeted for the year.
Also, the school will reduce its carryover balance for 2017-18 from $2,249,000 to $2 million. Williams said this is because the Arkansas Department of Education has changed how it distributes state foundation money. For the new year, state money will be distributed in 12 monthly payments. Before, the school did not receive a payment for the month of July and the carryover balance helped with any expenses due that month.
For 2016-17, final expenses included $7.4 million for teacher salaries, about $6.7 million for the operating budget, $1.2 million from the building fund, $800,000 for debt service and $677,000 for food service.
The district received $16 million in revenue. This included $5 million from property taxes and $9.1 million from state foundation funding.
In other business, board members discussed plans for a new disc golf course at the high school. Board member Jerry Coyle has offered to pay for the project and at the meeting said he also wants to build a pavilion with restrooms for those who are using the course.
Coyle said he did not want to take credit for all of the project. He said he has received a lot of donations and his actual costs will not be very much.
Coyle is sponsoring the course in memory of his son, Keaton Coyle, who passed away in September, 2016. Keaton was a 2006 graduate of Prairie Grove High School and an avid fan of disc golf.
The high school's EAST program is building the course and work has already started. A disc golf tournament is planned for September and Coyle said he would like to have a restroom/pavilion ready for that tournament. The school board agreed to make a decision on the facility at its Aug. 14 meeting.
The board met in executive session for 90 minutes to discuss personnel and afterward approved hiring two new teachers, a bus driver and a food services worker as part of the consent agenda.
The board accepted resignations from middle school teachers Jessie Richardson and Derek Shacklett and approved new teaching contracts for Blake Loenneke and Teresa Newman. They will be at the middle school.
Board members also approved requests from 16 students to transfer from Prairie Grove to other school districts and approved requests from four students to transfer into Prairie Grove.
General News on 08/09/2017