By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Forrest City School Board members voted unanimously Monday night to give District 7 teachers and classified personnel a 2.25 percent raise against the base salary with zero years of experience.
The raise, which is less than the requested $1,500 raise the personnel policy committee requested at the November board meeting, was greeted with disappointment by the large number of teachers in attendance.
According to FCSD Superintendent Lee Vent, the amendment to the personnel policy committee recommendation was needed due to the uncertainty of funding for the district from the state following the recent State Supreme Court decision in the Lake View school funding case.
"Based on the uncertainty in funding and the Lake View case, I cannot recommend the personnel policy recommendation of the $1,500 raise. But since the district has always worked to improve the standing of our teachers and their salaries, this board has worked to give raises when we could. The 2.25 percent raise on the table will bring the total raises in the past seven years to 22.75 percent," Vent said.
Nevada Banks with the Forrest City Education Association and a member of the personnel policy committee, spoke on behalf of the teachers, expressing their displeasure with the board's action Banks said district teachers feel under-appreciated by board members.
"As teachers in the district we work very hard under all kinds of conditions to make sure that the students in the Forrest City School District get the best education they can. We work tireless hours to increase the grade point average of our students, but each time we come to the board we always get the minimum. If we aimed as low in the classroom as this school board aims at its teachers, the students in this district would suffer greatly," Banks said.
"We just want to be treated fairly and with respect and dignity and to be treated like we're somebody," Banks added.
Vent responded to Banks' comments, "The $1,500 figure, and it is unreal, was based on what we're operating the district on. We're operating the district on just about $5 million less than my predecessor, but we've been able to give raises each year. We have suffered losses in students in each of my years in the district except this year. We always want to do more for our teachers, but it's nice that we're able to do anything. We're second in our district in salary and along the same lines with our annual increases. The proposed raise will increase the base salary for teachers from $27,690 to a little over $28,000 per year," Vent said.
In other news, the school district will receive up to $100,000 in improved security measures from a Department of Justice Grant. According to Lt. Eddie Adamson with the Forrest City Police Department, the grant will allow the district to improve security throughout the school district. The district was able to assist with the grant by providing the match through the construction of the Forrest City Junior High School.
"We would like to thank Lt. Adamson and the Forrest City Police Department for working with us to get this accomplished. We've already met the match with the new building, and that building will benefit greatly from the grant," Vent said.
Board members were also updated on the construction progress at new FCJHS. According to Bob Beavers, district architect, work on the structure is close to 64 percent complete.
"The building is really starting to take shape and for a one-story building, it's quite impressive," Beavers said.
General contractor Gary Kennedy told board members that a key stage in connecting the three wings of the complex was completed Monday when workers poured the foundation to the area which will tie the building together.
"Work is really coming along now. We poured that section today, and it's all looking like a jigsaw puzzle coming together. This section will connect the three wings and we're just really making progress.
According to Vent, the district should begin the bidding process for furniture for the building in the next few weeks. Board members were told that the building should be completed by the August deadline.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The flu bug has bitten in this area, but not very hard, at least officially.
Although quite a few people have been to the doctor with flu-like symptoms, a spokesperson for the St. Francis County Health Unit said this morning that there has been only one positive influenza culture in St. Francis County.
"We had a positive flu culture last week on a child," the spokesperson said. "That's all we've had so far, but I'm sure there will be more cultures tested."
Even without the actual flu, there are a lot of things that can make people sick.
"There are other viruses out there," she said. "I have heard that some doctors' offices have almost been overrun with people with upper respiratory infections, but most of those are another kind of virus."
She said doctors are asked to take cultures in order to track when flu arrives and how hard it hits. Usually, once the flu season is in full swing, they stop taking cultures.
Calls to elementary schools in Forrest City showed no inordinate number of absences. Only one school -- Stewart -- showed a little more than normal absences this week.
Flu has hit harder in some other areas of the state. In Heber Springs, for instance, Christmas break began early for some students. The superintendent decided to close the elementary and middle schools to combat a combination of flu-like symptoms which had infected a third of the student body. The high school will remain open through Friday, because it was not as hard-hit.
According to one story, northeast Arkansas has yet o see the extent of respiratory and stomach illnesses that have rampaged school districts in the rest of the state. Schools in north, south and central Arkansas were stuck with flu-like illnesses last week, with an average of one out of five students sick.
The hardest hit was in the Mountain Home School District, where Pinkston Middle School had a 40 percent of its students sick.
Dr. Christ Smith, general pediatrician at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, was quoted as saying he has also seen cases of croup, strep throat, and other stomach and respiratory viruses.
"This is generally a time of year where we see more illnesses anyway," he said. "But I've seen the flu, too."
A move across Washington Street for The Tobacco Superstore will help ease congestion at one of Forrest City's busiest intersections.
Sunday marked the first day of business for The Tobacco Superstore at its new location at 1067 N. Washington. David Cohn with Forrest City Grocery Company said the move was made after listening to concerns from customers. The new location is in the old Jr. Food Mart building.
"We're happy to have finally made the move. Our old location worked for us, but the parking wasn't the greatest, and we've listened to complaints about that parking for awhile. This will give us more parking and a bigger store, so we're really excited about the changes," Cohn said.
The Tobacco Superstore franchise will celebrate its 10-year anniversary in March. According to Cohn, the Forrest City store was the first in the franchise, which now numbers 82 in four states.