Pictured: Mrs. Freddie Burks
The July 9th Prescott School Board Meeting held a special weight for the hearts of many as Mrs. Freddie Burks was honored with a delightful treat and reception before the meeting, as well as an award being gifted to her at the beginning of the meeting. Mrs. Burks, who retired at the end of April, served as the Administrative Assistant for the Prescott Superintendent’s office for 29 years, working under six superintendents during her work span. During her award presentation, Mrs. Burks mentioned that she had enjoyed her years there and had developed lasting relationships with her colleagues. She also said to her friends at the school, “Keep God first, and he will do the rest”. Others that shared words of kindness included Principal Tommy Poole, who said that she was an “amazing woman” and her job would take “big shoes to fill”, President of the School Board Michael Williams, who said, “We love you, we love you, we love you”.
To start the board meeting, Board President Michael Williams called the meeting into order, with board member Eric Gonzales leading the opening prayer.
For the first order of business, the board unanimously voted to approve the June School Board Meeting minutes.
Moving on, Superintendent Dr. Larry Smith reported that, “Prescott Schools have had a very good financial year ending with a final balance of $490,000”.
For the year, the school district had 17 requests to transfer from other schools to the Prescott School District, and three requests to transfer to other schools from Prescott Schools, resulting in a gain of 14 new students for Prescott.
The board accepted a bid of $42,000 from KJ Lawn & Fencing of Prescott to maintain the lawns of Prescott Schools and facilities.
The board approved a bid of $12,000 from Occupational Environmental Hazard Control to remove several asbestos tiles from a chemistry lab in Prescott High School. The area to be replaced and improved takes up 1,500 square feet and will take two days to complete.
The board approved a bid of $23,761 from Athletic Field Services of Arkansas to bring in 18 tons of sand from Little Rock to apply it to the football, baseball, and softball fields which will help the root system growth of the field areas.
The PTO at Prescott Elementary School has been raising funds for a sunshade to provide shade over the outside playground, and the board committed additional funds totaling $50,873 to help the project go forward.
Dr. Smith reported that for the 2026-27 school year, the quote for property insurance is $146,853.70. This is a savings of over $25,000 from last year. This quote covers the Prescott School District in the coming year for all of their facilities.
The board approved $79,602.81 to be spent for curriculum materials for the upcoming school year.
The meeting was closed with a report by Superintendent Smith, who announced his hope that the next school board meeting would be on July 23rd. The report also included that Monday, August 3rd will be the annual Prescott Schools Community Coffee. On August 8th, there will be a Back to School Bash, with the first day of school being on August the 10th. Finally, August 28th will be the first game day of the Curly Wolves’ 2026 football season, being a rivalry match against Hope.
Photos:
Pictured: Superintendent Dr. Larry Smith
Pictured: Board President Michael Smith
Pictured: Board Members Eric Gonzales and Emily Jackson
Pictured: JoBeth Glass and Kathie Janes
