NSB breezes through most of agenda

ROSSTON – For the most part, the Nevada School Board breezed through the May agenda Thursday.

However, when it came to personnel, things slowed to a crawl as the panel took an hour in executive session. When it ended, the board voted to hire Raven Mixon as a bus driver and special ed paraprofessional, and give the track coach a stipend of $1,500 provided there’s a minimum of three regular season meets held.

Otherwise, the board simply voted to do what had to be done. This included retiring and removing fixed assets no longer in use from the 2023-24 school year, approving school choice transfers for 2024-25, the consolidation of program applications for the 24-25 school year, approving a new cycle for child nutrition and approving policy changes for next year as well. The program consolidation will allow the district to vote on all federal programs, such as the Title and ESA programs at one time instead of dealing with each individually. The nutrition program is to continue providing free lunch for students.

Superintendent Roy McCoy said the number of certified students for the program is decreasing across the state. Nevada, he told the board, stands to lose around $8,000 and will try to make it up in food costs.

The board’s final action was to approve a revenue anticipation loan of up to $300,000.

Carol Foster, NHS principal, said the cleaning crews are busy getting things ready for next year and she’s looking into incentives for students for good behavior, good grades and attendance, as well as incentives for teachers who don’t miss work. She pointed out 47 percent of the students who had Ds and Fs in the first semester brought them up to Cs or better.

Tonda Pennington, NES principal, told of celebrating those who retired. She said teachers are ready for their summer professional development. NES she added, is closed while the floors are getting cleaned and waxed.

She said a parent survey must be done each year and 95 percent of those responding said they feel their children are getting a good education and all said they think Nevada is safe for their children. However, parents also want the district to improve after school tutoring and transportation.

McCoy said work on the gym floor has begun but there’s a problem as the floor was glued to the rubber underneath. This means the rubber also has to be removed before the new floor can be installed. Meanwhile, the private school at Stephens has agreed to let Nevada use its gym for summer practice until the floor’s ready. He added the goals will have to be repositioned as the floor height will be different.