Valedictorian, Salutatorian awards to return to PCHS
Board also approves agreement on health center operation
Staff Report
At its meeting Tuesday evening, the Pulaski County School Board voted to bring back the Valedictorian and Salutatorian recognition for Pulaski County High School.
The board also ratified a new operating agreement for the Community Health Center based at PCHS.
The school board voted unanimously to bring back the graduation recognition.
The PCHS Valedictorian & Salutatorian Committee met throughout the 2024-2025 school year to examine the re-implementation of the Valedictorian and Salutatorian recognition for PCHS graduation ceremonies.
The committee was comprised of various stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, parents, central office personnel, and school board members.
After reviewing survey feedback from students and faculty, exploring practices from neighboring school divisions, and discussing the pros and cons of reintroducing the awards, the committee recommended the reinstatement of the Valedictorian and Salutatorian honors for the Class of 2029.
“After personally having sat on that committee to bring this back, there was a lot of thoughtful deliberation that went into this, and many things considered,” noted Chairman Gina Paine. “I do believe the implementation plan beginning with the class of 2029 is the most fair way to proceed. It gives everybody a heads-up, levels the playing field for anybody who wants to compete for this. Personally, I say, let’s just do it next year, but you know, let’s be fair here.”
The board also voted unanimously to approve an agreement on the operation of the Community Health Center at PCHS.
Since before it opened, the very existence of the health center on the high school campus has been at times a very contentious issue.
“We have vetted it [agreement] with our school board attorney. We have vetted it with the Community Health Center. We have vetted it with you all. I feel like we are at the point where we can go ahead and approve this, if you all feel the need to,” said School Superintendent Rob Graham.
“I can tell you, just from being there, it’s a wonderful service to our families. In fact, one of the phone calls I had today I set up an appointment for one of our students, one of our fifth grade students, to be there, hopefully tomorrow so they can be seen for dental services. So, I just think it’s a wonderful resource and something that is great for Pulaski County. So I would recommend that you all approve the agreement and we move forward as we’ve been,” Graham added.
“I want to say thank you too,” Paine said. “I know it’s about a year ago when we kind of brought this up and heard from the public who was quite supportive of keeping the clinic. Between Josh’s (Taylor) tenure as chair and leading this and the work we’ve done back and forth and the thoughtful and intentional input of the board,” Paine said, “I feel confident that the concerns we had have been addressed by this, but still allowing for very necessary, basic health care, and above all, dental care, to continue to be available.
“The more I look around and the more I see we are quickly falling into an area that, although there may be insurance available, that doesn’t guarantee healthcare is going to be able to be provided. And this is particularly true when it comes to the dental side of care. We’re becoming a pediatric dental desert. It’s a necessary service,” Paine added.
“I would like to say one thing before I vote,” said Draper representative Billy Williams – one of the more vocal critics of the health center from the beginning.
“It was in 2021 when it all started. The contract we have now is 10 times better than what was originally out there. There are some safeguards put in there. It’s not perfect. I still have concerns that we’ve talked about today, you know. But I figure if I get sued, we’re all going to get sued, so I will vote yes as well,” Williams said.