Gary Williams took his spot on the White Hall School Board dais for the first time as district superintendent Tuesday.
Twelve calendar days into his new role, Williams received a favorable report from financial consultant Doug Brown on the balances related to the district's ongoing building project.
A three-year review, Brown said, revealed the WHSD has transferred $7.1 million from its operating fund to the building fund during that time, although voters passed a millage increase toward district-wide construction in January 2020. For fiscal year 2022, which ended June 30, $2.6 million of the district's $6.5 million in operating funds have been transferred to the building fund, which now stands at $14.8 million.
As of June 30, the WHSD had $1.9 million remaining in bond proceeds after more than $25 million from that account was spent, Brown reported.
Brown gave the financial report, although he has transitioned into a consultant role from his dual job as financial and technology director. He publicly introduced the district's new chief financial officer, Tracy Samples, and tech director, Chris Hopkins.
The district also saw an increase in its food service balance from zero on July 1, 2019, to $541,000, on June 30 of this year.
"That's enhanced because since covid has rolled through, we have been reimbursed 100% for all meals including our summer program, breakfast and everything," Brown said. "For '22-23, it's our understanding it goes back to pre-covid method of reimbursing based on free and reduced applications. We won't be as enhanced as we have been. But we have gone from zero balance to $541,000."
Brown pointed out the food service balance increase to board trustee Scott Lockhart.
"Pretty tasty, isn't it?" Lockhart said.
The WHSD, which Williams said has enrolled 2,928 students so far, has more than 5,300 Chromebooks available, an increase of about 3,800 since the start of the covid pandemic, Brown told the board.
As for the construction progress, Williams said the parking lot facing West Holland Avenue will be usable by the first football game, but lighting for the lot may not be ready by that time. The band and choir rooms inside the performing arts center could be ready by the start of school, Williams said, with the center itself ready to open by September or October.
Construction of the center is on schedule, district officials said.
MENTORING SUPERINTENDENTS
Williams, who spent the past seven years as Crossett School District superintendent, explained his role in the New Superintendent Mentoring program. The board formally recognized a resolution supporting the work Williams is doing to mentor his successor at Crossett, recent high school principal Anthony Boykin.
"There are a lot of mentoring and different programs in the school business, but the component where if you are a new superintendent, and you're assigned a mentor who's a previous or practicing superintendent and you log a certain number of hours where you're working within board relations, school policy, finance, governance -- this gives them support as they get their feet wet as a new superintendent, so it helps them be more successful," Williams said.
This is the fourth time Williams has mentored an up-and-coming school leader through the program, administered by the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators.
PERSONNEL MOVES
The WHSD hired Sydney Leopard as a teacher at Gandy Elementary, Amy Bowlin as Taylor Elementary special education paraprofessional, Adam Johnson as high school special education parapro, Cameron McCaskill as high school in-school suspension facilitator, Hannah Brockwell as Hardin Elementary parapro and Gloria Denise Johnson as Gandy Elementary special ed parapro.
Allison Hayes is transferring from Gandy Elementary teacher to middle school EAST Lab facilitator, Patsy Garner was given a 20-day contract extension to 245 (effective July 1) as district child nutrition director, and Billy Corley resigned as technology technician (effective July 22).