John E. King has been approved as the coach for the bowling team.
Four of five School Board members met in a special School Board meeting Thursday, May 25, to address personnel issues and hear a recommendation from superintendent Keith Martin for a purchase.
King was hired in 1987 as a football coach with the Pea Ridge School District and told to coach baseball, too. Soon afterwards, the superintendent told him the baseball program was going to be cut because of costs. A group of parents raised the money to continue the program. King retired as head baseball coach in 2018.
King was head football coach in 1995-1996, has coached track and continued as an assistant football coach. This next year, he will take on the new bowling team instead of coaching football.
The bowling team was approved April 10 by the School Board.
The team will practice at the Rogers Bowling Center. Bowling is a winter sport, according to assistant superintendent Kevin Ramey, who said it will run from November through February. He said Pea Ridge will be in the West Division and play in 10 tournaments. The board approved $1,200 for a stipend for the coach and $500 each for men's and women's uniforms.
The teams will consist of six to 10 students from the ninth through the 12th grades. Tryouts are scheduled for October.
Uniforms will consist of a polo style shirt and athletes will provide their own slacks, jeans or shorts in accordance with AAA rules.
Teams against which Pea Ridge would compete include Bauxite, Clarksville, Elkins, Flippin, Gentry, Haas Hall - Fayetteville, Hackett, Jessieville, Lamar, Lincoln, Mayflower, Ozark and Perryville.
Board members also approved the purchase of shatter resistant film from Entry Shield for $32,571.60, after a presentation by Ramey. The film, which is to be installed during the summer break, is to be paid for with funds from the safety grant awarded by the Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. The film is one of a number of priorities listed based on the 2022 Arkansas School Safety Council recommendations.
The film is designed to prevent access into a classroom or main entrance and will be installed in the entries to all five school buildings, student services and the administration building.
"The purchase of shatter resistant film, along with access control and School Resource Officers continues to make our school community more secure and a safer environment for all," Ramey told board members.
In other business, the board approved:
Resignations of Gracie Boortz, FACS, Jr. High; Ashley Cronin, fourth-grade teacher; Intermediate School; Tracie Bellinger, English teacher; Jr. High; Chris Shelby, band director/teacher; and Abbey Tabor, teacher, Intermediate School;
Resignations of Kirsty Townend , paraprofessional, Primary School; and Janelle Ziehe, paraprofessional, Primary School;
Hiring Mary Beth Ivie, FACS teacher, Jr. High; Jennifer Cagle, teacher, Primary School; Paige Edwards, counselor, PRHS; and Preston Cash, teacher/coach, PRHS;
Hiring Judy Greene, library media aide, PRHS;
Position changes of Tamara Schroeder, from kindergarten to pre-kindergarten teacher; and John King, from football to bowling, PRHS; and
Position changes for Danielle Rose, payroll, district administration; and Rebecca Johnson, pre-kindergarten teacher aide, pre-kindergarten.