In what has become an annual tradition, local businessman Jim Nelson continued to provide a little Christmas joy to employees of the Eureka Springs School District.
Nelson, a local artist who owns popular Nelson’s store on Spring Street downtown, has once again donated $35 gift cards to all district employees.
The gift was recognized at the Eureka Springs School Board’s monthly meeting held Monday, Dec. 8.
“It’s about 120 employees,” superintendent Bryan Pruitt said of the number of gift cards Nelson donated. “It’s quite a donation, especially if they wait for those Christmas sales he has coming up where they do 50 percent off. If they use those $35 gift card you can get a nice pair of shoes for that money. It’s nice name-brand stuff.
“It’s just quite a generous donation, and our staff appreciates Jim and his wife, Susan. They’ve made this donation for several years now, and so we want to always recognize them for their thoughtfulness during the holidays for all of our staff.”
In addition, Nelson recently loaned the district 11 pieces of artwork he created to be displayed in the newly constructed cafeteria for elementary and middle school students, Pruitt said.
“He’s been a district supporter for quite some time with artwork and things like that,” the superintendent said. “… We are just really appreciative of what he does for our district and our staff.”
OTHER ITEMS
The board approved the re-hire of John Kesler as the district’s transportation director.
Kesler held the role previously before resigning to take a position with the Berryville School District. He recently reached out to see if he could return to Eureka Springs, Pruitt said.
“He’ll be our transportation supervisor again, and he does a great job,” Pruitt said.
The board also heard about a group of students who got to attend the the discussion with President Barack Obama held recently at the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville.
“That was a really cool trip,” Pruitt said. “Some of our kids got to actually shake his hand.”
Additionally, the board learned that the district’s millage rate was recently lowered to 35.8. Previously, the rate was 36.1 mills.
