White Hall School Board met for its last meeting of the summer Tuesday at the district administration building as they prepare for school to begin later this month. Before the board addressed the items on the agenda for consideration, Dr. Jones gave a few recognitions from the district.
Jones recognized a featured guest at the meeting, Betty Cook who is the area five director of the Arkansas Retired Teachers Association. Deltaplex news spoke with Cook after the meeting and she explained more about the association and the scholarship.
Jordan Drye a fourth-grade literature teacher at Taylor Elementary was the award recipient of the $2,000 scholarship. Deltaplex also spoke to Drye about this accomplishment and her plans to further her education.
On the topic of considerations, Jones introduced the teacher retention and recruitment plan to the board which included three objectives. Those objectives were to bridge the gap between minority student and teacher ratio to decrease by 11%, push forward a future education program for inspiring high school educators, and build collaborative relationships with the local higher education institutions. That consideration was approved without consent by the board.
The board also approved the consideration of the pinnacle pointe behavioral healthcare to provide mental health services to students throughout the district and meal price increase for adults. That price increased from $2.25 to $2.70 for breakfast and $3.35 to $4.75 for lunch.
Superintendent Gary Williams gave his report highlighting that enrollment has increased by 98 to 3,026 since their last meeting in July.
