The Pine Bluff School Board held their monthly meeting Monday night where discussion of the millage campaign for a new high school was discussed.
Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree spoke with Deltaplex News about the campaign, noting that the board is wanting to use both a millage campaign and a non-profit capital campaign as the district prepares to put a millage on the ballot in August.
The board also approved the purchase of new curriculum for the 2023-24 school year.
Deltaplex News asked Barbaree if the additional capital campaign would be used to help cover any additional construction costs due to inflation. The Watson Chapel School District recently passed a millage, but will have to find additional ways to secure funding to complete their new school building under the current plans.
Barbaree said that the costs that the Pine Bluff School District has have already had the rising costs with inflation figured into them.
Barbaree mentioned at the March board meeting that any teachers that were not certified would have to show that they were on a path of certification or their contracts would not be renewed for the 2023-24 school year. She reported Monday night that there were 70 teachers that were not certified, and they had to non-renew 54 of those 70.
Barbaree said the sad thing is the district lost some good teachers due to lack of certification, and she hopes the district is able to help them somehow as they move forward.
