Students across Carroll County returned to school Monday, making for what school administrators called an “exciting time.”
Eureka Springs superintendent Bryan Pruitt said he looks forward to starting “with a nice, clean slate.”
At Eureka Springs, like many districts, increased campus security is at the top of the list when it comes to changes for the new school year.
“School safety is one of the things that we’re really concerned about,” Pruitt said, adding that security was one of the things his staff focused on during their early start. “We talked about security situations, about lockdowns and keeping doors locked and we have people checking doors. If it’s not locked then they report that to the principal so we can keep an eye on those things.”
Pruitt said that during the summer, the district sent its school resource officer and two of its principals to a school safety seminar in Little Rock and will be looking to them for any additional recommendations or changes to procedure.
“We’re trying to keep our buildings safe,” Pruitt said. “It’s kind of tough, because you almost feel like the school is unwelcoming anymore because we’re so locked down, but we have to do that. We can’t afford not to be locked down, and it’s sad.”
Pruitt said the state also recommends having a school resource officer on every campus. The Eureka Springs district has three campuses but only one SRO.
“That’s not available for us,” Pruitt said. “For one, there’s not enough policemen you can hire to do that, and number 2, we don’t have the money.”
Pruitt explained that the SRO’s salary is split between the district and the local police department, with the district on the hook for 80 percent.
“That’s quite a bit of money to hire three of them,” Pruitt said. “That being said, we have one good one. He’s constantly moving around from campus to campus, all three buildings.”
As for school lunches, some parents in the Eureka Springs district could be getting a break.
During its July board meeting, the Eureka Springs district board voted to raise meal prices at the school by approximately 15 cents based on a recommendation from the state education department, and encouraged all parents to apply for the state’s free and reduced meal programs. On Aug. 8, they voted to use district funds to make up the difference for those families who qualify for the reduced meal program, meaning all students in the district will either eat free or pay full price.
“Our board always does it,” Pruitt said. “Any of our kids that come back and they qualify as reduced, we’re going to make up the difference. Here at Eureka Springs, our kids are either free or they’re pay. We’re going to make up the difference.
“We do that for our students.” One exciting change for district students and faculty, Pruitt said, will be starting school in the absence of any elevated COVID-19 protocols. Like schools across the nation, for the past two years, the Eureka Springs district has had to adjust on the fly to changes in pandemic protocols, in addition to localized outbreaks that left many students and teachers in quarantine.
Pruitt said his district did a good job responding to the pandemic, and is continuing to be proactive, even offering vaccine clinics for students and staff.
“That’s where we’re at right now,” Pruitt said. “Hopefully — knock on wood — we’re going to be able to come in here and start school and continue to be OK.”
