Eureka Springs Times-Echo
Summer break hasn’t been going on very long, but Eureka Springs Superintendent Bryan Pruitt already has his mind on the 2025-2026 school year that starts in August.
“I always say, when 4th of July gets there it’s basically over,” Pruitt said of summer vacation.
At the Eureka Springs School Board’s monthly meeting held Monday, June 9, Pruitt discussed some end-of-theyear information including enrollment numbers that have remained steady throughout his tenure with the district.
“We have stayed pretty steady,” Pruitt said. “We were at 620 kids when I started here in 2015 and we are still right about the same amount. We dipped just a little bit during COVID, but they came back.
“Eureka has just always been pretty steady.”
The board voted to maintain its officers another year as Chris McClung will remain as president, Al Larson as vice president and Gayla Wolfinbarger as secretary.
“They also voted to keep the same meeting time,” Pruitt said of the 5:30 p.m. slot on the second Monday of each month.
The board maintained its annual resolution needed because of Wolfinbarger’s ownership of Inn of the Ozarks, a location the district occasionally uses for various events.
Pruitt also discussed the status of the new cafeteria building that has been under construction for quite some time and, when finished, will serve students in elementary and middle school.
In all, the past school year was another successful one, the superintendent said.
“It was a great year,” Pruitt said. “We were so proud to have all three schools that ended up with an A letter grade. It shows what hard work and dedication we have with our whole village of people.”
Summer activities are well underway across the district as maintenance projects continue on each campus, Pruitt said.
“We’re just excited about the preparations that are being done this summer and the projects we’re doing to get everything fixed up, cleaned up and painted,” Pruitt said. “We’re getting ready for when the kids get back because they’ll be back before you know it.”
