By Brittany Williams
Staff Writer
STRONG — Pam Gathright voted on her first action as a Strong-Huttig School Board member at a meeting Monday night.
Gathright, who represents Board Zone 7, was appointed after a recommendation was approved by the board last month. The new board member served in El Dorado Civitan Club and Main Street El Dorado Board of Directors, according to previous News-Times reports.
When discussing board officer positions, she said, “I don’t know enough about yet. I’m going to have to get my feet wet before I get into something like that.”
The board voted to keep board leadership as follows: Cindy Smith, president; Fredrick Baker, vice president and Carrie McHenry, secretary.
An amendment regarding “independent study,” recommended by Superintendent Jeff Alphin, was approved. According to the district’s student handbook, independent study classes that students take “outside of the regular school curriculum.”
“It was a question of a paragraph that needed to be added for a student who had already graduated, but had some independent study that needed to go on his transcript and we just need to put it in the policy that as long as it’s correctly done that we’ll accept it,” Alphin said.
While the Strong-Huttig Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) isn’t “part of the district financially or administratively,” Alphin said the district should adopt a policy to ensure proper protocol.
“We pulled a handout off the national PTO website and this is it with Strong-Huttig put in the correct places. Then we’re going to pass that on to the PTO. There’s no obligation to the district, but it is making sure that the district is not put in a bind either,” he said.
Board members also approved three student transfers to the Smackover-Norphlet School District.
The Strong-Huttig School District’s next meeting is scheduled at 6 p.m. Nov. 13 in the Strong High School library.
Brittany Williams may be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter and like her on Facebook @BWilliamsEDNT for updates on Union County school news.