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The Mountain Home School Board will consider a $103,043.90 playground upgrade at Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary when it meets Thursday. The project would replace equipment that has been pulled from the site over the past year. The board meets at 6 p.m. in the Administration Building Board Room.
The cost includes $63,522.54 for new equipment and $39,521.36 for site preparation and turf surfacing. The work would be paid from the district’s building fund through a TIPS/TAPS purchasing contract. Chris Knight, who submitted the request, wrote that teachers and administrators have called for updates for several years.
The board will also weigh buying five used route buses for the 2026-27 school year. Each bus would seat at least 71 passengers, run on gasoline and carry fewer than 30,000 miles. The request caps the price at $125,000 per bus, or as much as $625,000 in all.
Assistant Superintendent Dustin Rose will present the bus item. The transportation department plans to use the buses to retire higher-mileage vehicles. District buses cover close to 2,000 miles per run, according to the request.
A separate item would approve new science textbooks for chemistry and zoology. The high school science department chose Pearson chemistry materials quoted at $25,056 and McGraw Hill zoology materials quoted at $4,867.85. District leaders say the books match Arkansas standards.
The board will also consider buying Sonday System dyslexia training and materials for grades 3-12. The materials are quoted at $77,110.29 and the onsite training at $7,000, for about $84,110 in all.
The kits would be bought with the 2025-26 Title I budget so teachers can prepare for July training. The training would be paid from the 2026-27 budget.
Administrators will bring the 2026-27 student handbooks for a third and final read. The package covers 14 handbooks, including the K-5, Pinkston Middle School and junior and senior high books. Others cover band, athletics, NJROTC and the Guy Berry College and Career Academy.
The board will review updates to policy sections 4, 5 and 7, drawn from Arkansas School Boards Association model policy. The changes add a new policy on electronic fund transfers and revise rules on personal electronic devices and internet use. Updated policies also address student transfers, school choice, graduation requirements and student acceleration.
In reports, Assistant Superintendent Judy Lawrence will give a K-2 assessment overview based on the state’s ATLAS testing system. Kindergarten reading proficiency rose to 83% in 2025-26 from 65% a year earlier. Kindergarten math proficiency climbed to 73% from 54%.
Lawrence will also recognize the district’s Arkansas Association of Instructional Media School Library Media Specialist of the Year. Superintendent Allyson Dewey will give a student transfer update. Chief Financial Officer Leah Cotter will present the May financial report, which shows an operating fund balance of about $10.2 million.
The board will hear that enrollment stands at 3,596 students. The figure continues a yearly decline from 3,733 in 2024-25.
The agenda also includes a public comment period, an employee hearing and an executive session on personnel employment, retirements and transfers.
