Education notebook

District: Meals free for next four years

The new Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District will serve all of its students lunch and breakfast at no cost to the students and their families for at least the next four school years.

The district's School Board voted last week to do that by making use of the Community Eligibility Provision of the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

The provision allows schools and districts with a high enrollment of students from low-income families to serve free meals to all students. That saves the district from having to try to collect applications from families to determine who is and who is not eligible for free- and reduced-priced school meals.

The Jacksonville district will have to subsidize the Community Eligibility Provision program for about 12 percent of its students who would not otherwise be income-eligible for the free school meals. That cost could be as much as $200,000 a year.

Clint Walker, district director of student nutrition, said the district will offset the cost with U.S. Department of Agriculture reimbursements for the Breakfast In the Classroom program in the elementary schools and the Second Chance breakfast program in the secondary schools. The district will also raise some money by selling a la carte food items to students.

On building funds, state word awaited

Arkansas school districts will learn during the week of Aug. 15 whether their applications have been approved for 2017-19 state Partnership Program project funding.

The state Division for Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation will send certified letters on Aug. 15 notifying the districts of building project decisions.

There were 260 applications, and 51 have been disapproved, Brad Montgomery, division director, said last week. The letters will explain the reasons for the disapproval.

The state provides money for school construction, expansion and system repairs. The amount of state funding is based in part on the district's property-tax wealth.

The early notification will give districts that have been disapproved the opportunity to appeal before actual funding for approved projects is announced no later than May 1, 2017. The early notification also gives districts with disapproved projects a chance to find other funding sources.

The funding amounts for projects won't be decided until after the 2017 session of the Arkansas General Assembly.

KIPP Delta campus opens in Blytheville

KIPP Delta Public Schools has opened its new Central Campus in Blytheville -- the new home of KIPP Blytheville College Preparatory School. The new charter school campus will house students in grades four through six.

Blytheville KIPP students in grades seven through 11 are remaining at KIPP Blytheville Collegiate High School, located at KIPP's Bryles Campus on Byrum Road.

The new campus was the first of several KIPP Delta projects that are being made possible in part with financial support from the Walton Family Foundation of Bentonville. Other projects will include the renovation of the recently acquired historic Beech Crest Elementary Building in Helena-West Helena, as well as classroom improvements at KIPP Delta's schools in Helena-West Helena and Forrest City.

"Because of the commitment the Walton Family Foundation has shown to our students, we will be able to serve more students, improve the quality of the services we provide, and breathe life into local neighborhoods." Scott Shirey, executive director for KIPP Delta Public Schools, said.

Both the Central and the Beech Crest facilities were purchased from local school districts after sitting vacant for a number of years.

In 2016-17, KIPP Delta will serve more than 1,500 students in six schools located in Helena-West Helena, Blytheville and Forrest City.

LR graduate gains merit scholarship

Nikita Das of Little Rock, a 2016 graduate of Little Rock Central High, is the recipient of a National Merit Scholarship sponsored by the PPG Industries Foundation.

Das is looking at careers in the medical field.

Nearly all corporate-sponsored Merit Scholar designees of 2016 were announced publicly by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. in April. However, the award Das was chosen to receive became available after that announcement.

Metro on 08/07/2016

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