Superintendent highlights $69 million budget, $1 million legacy grant and new searchable AHS course catalog

Doctor Clark, superintendent of Arlington Community Schools, presented a range of district updates in the superintendent’s report, highlighting budget and program milestones and recent legacy grant awards.

Clark told the board the district budget this year was $69,000,000 and described the board’s role in approving and shaping how those dollars are used. She noted the district’s annual “legacy grant” program, which the board approves at $1,000,000 per year, and reviewed several recent legacy grant approvals for January that pay for field trips, student travel, clubs, and program supplies.

Clark outlined sample legacy grant awards approved to date: funding for an Arlington High School Poetry Out Loud student and adviser to attend the state tournament; a Donaldson Elementary fifth-grade trip to Discovery Park; supplies for an Arlington Elementary art club (approximately 25 students); starter equipment for Donaldson Elementary’s elementary volleyball club (18–20 students); four Arlington High School student council members to attend the TSBA SCOPE conference; purchase of a golf simulator for the Arlington High School golf team (to be installed in an existing weight-room area); and a Donaldson third-grade trip to the Memphis Zoo tied to an animal-adaptations lesson. Clark said year-to-date legacy-grant approvals total about $330,000, with roughly $170,000 remaining available for the rest of the fiscal year; she noted the program typically pauses approvals in April to ensure funds are spent before the fiscal year ends in June.

Clark described other highlights: Arlington High School earned gold-level recognition under the Safe Stars initiative for athletics safety and compliance; the district is using Perkins funding and student interest surveys to guide career and technical education pathways (Clark said health care and human services, arts/entertainment/design, and advanced manufacturing are top student choices); and Arlington High School launched a mobile-friendly, searchable online course catalog derived from its prior 80-plus-page PDF to help families and students explore courses by keyword, grade level and program area.

Clark and other staff also noted student accomplishments in regional art competitions and promoted upcoming events including a family-life curriculum preview, AHS Bound Night, and the district’s “Pep Talks” podcast. Several administrators referenced coordination on devices for different career pathways (iPads for visual arts, PCs for STEM/computer science) and a plan to gather college input to guide device recommendations for students in specific programs.

The report was delivered as information; no separate formal board action on the items was recorded in the transcript.