GOSNELL -- In its regular meeting Monday night, the Gosnell School Board approved a budget of funds to be received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more commonly known as the stimulus money.
The district is expected to receive $1,435,145 in funding, if the budget of expenditures is approved by the Arkansas Department of Education, said Superintendent Stan Williams.
The breakdown of the money is in three different categories: Title I funds, which are for school improvement; IDEA, which is special education; and stabilization funds, which allows for new classroom construction or modernization of facilities.
The district expects to receive $311,258 in Title I funds, which will be spent on equipment and direct programming for students. The $331,471 in IDEA funds will be broken down into several different expenditures, including $81,100 for equipment, $63,000 for services to handicapped students, $45,000 for technology, $126,371 for programs and direct services and the remaining $16,000 for miscellaneous programs.
The $792,416 in stabilization funds will be spent on a new four-classroom addition ($322,733), modernization by enclosing hallways ($340,800) and renovation by re-roofing some buildings and doing some interior work at a cost of $128,883.
The district has also received grant funds to help improve technology in the schools, Williams said.
Among the grants are $38,164 for computers and hardware and $19,511 for software for the high school business education department. A grant from the Microsoft Corp. will buy $30,550 worth of technology for the junior high business education department, he said.
The board also approved a bid of $62,832 for a handicapped-accessible bus and approved a bid for school vehicle insurance in the amount of $13,644.
The board voted to approve bids from Turner Dairy for milk and Interstate for bread for the next school year.
The board also accepted resignations from Steven Cazart, high school band teacher, and David Leggett, elementary art teacher. The board employed Ray Parham as band director, and reassigned elementary teacher Lisa Sellars as art teacher. Melinda Judah was hired as an elementary teacher and Kelly Lammers was hired as elementary girls basketball coach. Shelly Fulks and Aaren Roberts were hired as lunchroom monitors.
The board also approved a bid to purchase a back hoe/front end loader from Greenway Equipment of Blytheville for $14,190.