BHS prom to be held outdoors at Haley Field

For the first time, the Blytheville High School Senior Prom and Grand Senior Walk will be held outdoors April 24 on Haley Field.

Blytheville High School principal Jennifer Blankenship told the Blytheville School Board Thursday evening that officials will have Covid safety protocols in place, including mask wearing, temperature checks, and social distancing as much as possible. Students will not be able to bring dates from other districts.

Blankenship said family members will be allowed to watch the Senior Walk, though they will have to sit on the visitor’s side of the field and will not be allowed to go through the gates. Only students will be escorts for the Grand Senior Walk.

Blytheville School Board member Carlony Lewis asked why BHS couldn’t have a prom inside Chickasaw Arena since the facility just hosted a regional basketball tournament.

Blankenship said they considered the arena, but didn’t come up with a way to have spectators for the Senior Walk.

Lewis countered if the facility could host a regional tournament with fans, it should accommodate family members of the participating seniors. She fears many seniors will not come if the prom is outdoors.

Board vice president Barbara Wells, who chaired the meeting in the absence of president Erin Carrington, said she doesn’t want babies at the Senior Walk, specifically seniors’ babies.

“I don’t want their babies in a stroller or on their hip,” Wells said. “It’s a prom for seniors; we don’t need babies there.”

In other news from the 2 1/2-hour meeting, Blytheville Elementary School nurse Sarah Russell pitched the district applying for a Division of Elementary and Secondary Education health center grant.

The grant would allow the district to have a clinic at the lower level of the Administration Building for such services as immunization and medical care, as well as mental health services for both staff and students.

Russell said the health center would be open two days a week, and they are in talks with a potential medical care provider and a mental health firm in hopes of partnering with them.

If approved, the grant would pay $150,000 the first year, $105,000 the second year, and $90,000 the third and final year.

The grant money could be used for a coordinator’s salary, renovations, supplies, computers, phones, etc.

The funds could not be used to pay salaries of the providers, who would bill the patients’ insurance for their services. The money can’t be used to purchase a vehicle either, though Russell said the district’s special education bus has full-time staff that could transport students from the building to the center and the school resource officer could transport them there or home if needed.

Responding to board member Michelle Sims, Russell said the coordinator, which typically has an annual salary of $45,000-50,000, could be hired from within the district, but she expects the individual would come from outside the district.

Russell noted Marion has a similar program and has found success when hiring someone with a marketing background, rather than say one who is a nurse.

She said promoting the health care center would be critical. Along with public relations duties, the coordinator would be responsible for setting appointments, coordinating transportation, and communicating with parents.

Lewis was concerned about traffic at the Administration Office, which also has a buzz-in system. Ashley said they could work around those issues. “I think the good outweighs the bad,” Ashley said.

Board member Desmond Hammett said, “it sounds like we’re about to pawn our kids off” to give health providers business.

He said most already have a primary care physician.

Lewis asked after the grant ended in three years, what would happen?

Ashley responded he expects it to be self-sufficient, but if not the district would likely close it down.

Russell added the majority of students are on Medicad, and by billing the insurance they would be able to continue the clinic after the grant is gone.

Board members asked for more information and are expected to have a special meeting on the issue. The deadline to apply is April 15.

In other news, Ashley noted the Covid-19 numbers are down dramatically.

However, he asked to continue the mask mandate through the end of the year even if Gov. Asa Hutchinson relaxes requirements later this month.

Also, Ashley thanked all involved in making the recent regional basketball tournament “a huge success.”

He spoke about several bills currently before state lawmakers and told the board the district expects around $10 million in ESSER 3 (Covid relief) funds, which would bring the total to around $16 million in emergency relief funding.

After telling Hammett the district didn’t have the money for employee bonuses as neighboring Gosnell recently approved for its staff, Ashley responded to Sims that the district could not use the ESSER funds for bonuses.

In other news, curriculum coordinator Sally Cooke presented the 2021-22 school calendar to the board, which later approved it. The first day of school will be Aug. 16; Christmas break is Dec. 20-31, with students returning to school on Jan. 4, 2022. The last day of school will be May 27.

Cooke also spoke about a three-day virtual institute, which will train staff on professional learning community. Cooke added all three buildings are applying for the professional learning community grant.

Responding to Lewis, Cooke said the district is reviewing options for students who want to continue with virtual learning next year, though noting they would have to have shown success this year. Cooke plans to report more at next month’s board meeting.

Meanwhile, in his report, facilities director Brandon Harper reported on the progress of several projects, including repairs to the exterior wall of the high school auditorium and the Blytheville Elementary School parking lot.

Harper said the materials are in for the wall repair, and they are in the process of taking soil samples and surveying at BES, hoping to start the bidding process soon.

The board also approved personnel recommendations.

They included the resignations of technology director Kris Williams, BMS administrative assistant Susie O’Neal, Chickasaw Academy teacher Kalob Welch, and BES secretary Cindy Hampton. The board also accepted the retirements of BHS library/media specialist Karen Ashley, BES teacher Linda Williams, and BHS bookkeeper Helen Middlebrook.

The board approved the appointment of BMS teacher Susie Oneal and behavioral interventionist Shelia Brown.