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Benton School Board approves changing junior high mascot to Panthers |
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Wednesday, 14 May 2008 |
Benton Junior High will no longer be known as home of the Warriors.
The Benton School Board approved changing the junior high mascot to that of its superiors, the Panthers. Scott Neathery, the district’s athletic director, made the recommendation at the school board meeting Monday night.
Changing the mascot is something the students, teachers and parents wanted, Neathery said. The BJH Student Council voted unanimously for the change and an “overwhelming majority of the BJH teachers are in favor,” he said.
He added that the Benton Athletic Booster Club as well as coaches are in favor of the change because now uniforms and supplies will be the same from eighth to 12th grade.
Neathery said the majority of schools across the state have the same mascot at both junior high and high school levels.
The board also accepted a proposal by Neathery to raise the admission prices for school athletic events.
For adults, high school athletics’ gate admission will be $5 and $4 for junior high athletic events. For children, gate admission will be $4 for high school athletic events and $3 for junior high events.
In justifying the change, Neathery said Benton has the lowest ticket price in the 6A classification, and that there has been no change in ticket price since the 2000-01 school year. Since that school year, volleyball, bowling, cheer and dance have been added to the athletics department.
“We are the only 6A school that is self-sufficient up to the 2007-2008 school year, and due to the rise in gas prices and athletics participation, transportation costs are higher than ever,” Neathery said.
In other school board news, Dan Jordan, director of personnel and student services, reported that 72 students from surrounding school districts will be entering the Benton district in the 2008-09 academic year, with 27 those students being kindergartners. He said that 13 students will be leaving the district, but of those 13, only three were enrolled in the district.
Jordan also reported that the district has an average daily enrollment of 4,493.
Robyn Keen, business manager for the district, presented the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee report on the school district. The district had no issues arise in the audit.
The cover letter states, “The Committee appreciates the conscientious efforts of your personnel in achieving substantial compliance with the Arkansas fiscal and financial laws applicable to schools. We encourage you to continue these efforts as well as maintaining conformity with accepted accounting practices and procedures.”
Superintendent Tony Prothro said to have an audit report with no exceptions “is very rare.” He said it’s all because of the “people doing an exceptional job.”
Karla Neathery, director of curriculum and instruction, shared a report that shows that the 56 students who took the geometry End-of-Course examination did well, with 93 percent performing at an advanced level and 7 percent performing at a proficient level.
Also at Monday night’s meeting, Oveta Pledger, president of the Ralph Bunche Community Action Commit-tee, gave a presentation on the successes of last year’s Back to School Picnic, encouraging everyone’s involvement for this year’s event, which will take place Saturday, Aug. 2. This event is where hundreds of area students receive backpacks and school supplies. Last year, Pledger exceeded her goal of 500 when 550 backpacks were given out.
In upcoming events, Senior Awards Night is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday in Butler Auditorium at Benton High School. On Thursday, May 22, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock chancellor’s reception will be at 5:30 p.m. and the high school graduation will follow at 7:30 at UALR’s Jack Stephens Center.
Prothro said the district will provide transportation to graduation for people who need it. The high school requests that people who need transportation call the principal’s office at 778-3288 by Monday.
The next school board meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 9, at Ringgold Elementary School. |
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