TEXARKANA, Ark. - Construction of the Arkansas Middle School is ahead of schedule due to good weather, a representative with Clark Contractors told the Texarkana, Arkansas, Board of Directors Tuesday.
Hayden Cunningham, Clark project manager, said they had knocked down the trees and cleared the site, which is located north of Interstate 30 on Jefferson Ave., in preparation for construction.
"We are putting some utilities in the ground, sewer, water. We've started doing electrical and should start on the storm drainage pipe very soon," he said. "Mostly, we're just moving dirt around to get it to the proper grade. By the time we start pouring concrete, it'll be more fun to talk about."
He added that they had rebid the electrical portion of the project, which resulted in a savings of $614,318 of the gross maximum price of $25,792,500.
The school is expected to be completed in January 2021. A live feed of the construction process can be viewed at the school's website, tasd7.net.
Directors also approved the installation of a storefront door at North Heights Junior High School for increased curb appeal and safety enhancement. Robin Hickerson, assistant superintendent for secondary education said it will provide an extra layer of protection, similar to what is in place at the high school.
"We think it will be a good addition to North Heights," Hickerson said.
The work will be done by Ralph's Glass shop for $9,950.
The board also renewed a contract for the SchoolMessenger Parent Notification System. The renewal cost is $18,366.79 for the system, which is used to communicate with district parents. Also included is SchoolMessenger Presence, a content management system and website hosting service that maintains the district's web pages.
Directors also authorized the renewal of licenses with Pearson GradPoint for credit recovery at a cost of $20,910.75.
A proposal was also approved from Dr. Roger Guevara to provide an Evidence of Promise evaluation of the district's use of the $14.7 million grant they received from the Magnet Schools Assistance Program. The evaluation cost is $15,575. Guevara was originally contracted for the EOP evaluation in September 2018 for the period of one year.
In other business, a $46,600 contract with the Buck Institute for Education was approved for staff professional development. Hickerson said the funds will be used for development and sustainability of project-based learning after the magnet grant funds are spent.
"We believe in PBL and we want to be able to use PBL past the life of this grant," she said. Buck also provided professional development and systemic coaching for PBL through the previous magnet grant the district received in 2013.
"When we no longer have this funding, they will be able to continue to train our staff," Hickerson said. "I'm very confident in their process."
Members also approved payment of a supplemental fee to Dr. David Lerch and Dr. Martha Pennington, who served as writers for the magnet grant. The fee is 3% of the total $14.7 million grant and will be paid in yearly installments.
A quote from Renaissance Learning for reading and math assessments for students in grades third through tenth was also approved. The $64,080.95 for the products, which individualize instruction to accelerate learning, will come from the Title 1 budget.