PEA RIDGE — After an extensive review into the school district’s finances for construction projects, superintendent Dr. Roland Smith told School Board members there was $9,106,252.74 available for the Intermediate School and bus garage projects and there should be money left over.

“The wise decisions made by the administration and this board have allowed this district to move forward,” Smith said.

At Monday night’s School Board meeting, Smith recommended the board approve the bids from Baldwin & Shell for $4,908,320 for the Intermediate School and $566,042 for the bus garage.

He said the bids for the school came in less than anticipated and were slightly higher for the bus garage, but one offset the other. The bids were for the guaranteed maximum price and that any additional savings would be returned to the school district.

He also recommended, as suggested at the city Planning Commission technical review meeting last week, that the bus garage area be fenced for security.

Smith presented recommendations for improvements to the safe room including an outside light and making the north door work on radio frequency so it can be unlocked when the sirens are sounded, just as the south doors are.

“Let me help you out on a policy we’ve got,” Rick Webb, board member, said to Dr. Smith. “We put this policy in place about sixyears ago. As a superintendent, you’ve got the authority to spend up to $10,000 without board approval.”

“I will keep you fully informed,” Smith replied.

When discussing the bus garage, transportation superintendent RandyEasterling asked about office space and a drivers’ lounge instead of a wash bay. The board and architect agreed it could easily be exchanged.

Board member Josh Ramsey asked Easterling about equipment needs.

Easterling said: “There might be some down the road. A bus lift, we’ve looked at them across the countryside, I think they’re a waste of space, I really do.”

He said many parents come into his office before visiting the principal and he wants an office for himself as well as for his clerk.

In other business, the board:

◊Hired Lindsay Barnes, third-grade teacher, and DeAnna Thompson, special education teacher for seventh- through ninthgrade.

◊Accepted the bid for the library software from Atrium contingent upon approval from the school’s attorney.

◊Approved the use of school grounds for a circus Sept. 15 co-sponsored by the Optimist Club and Lions Club.

News, Pages 1 on 07/13/2011