BOONEVILLE – After receiving a proposal from an educational consultant offering his services to evaluate the Prentiss County School District, the school board took no hiring action at Monday’s regular board meeting.

The board met last month with Charles Harrison, who previously worked as an administrator with Pontotoc City Schools, to consider him for the consulting work, and expected a formal proposal from him to be presented at this week’s meeting.

In presenting the proposal from Harrison, however, Superintendent Matt Smith said he thought the proposed fee of $19,200 plus expenses was too high for work that had already been done for the district in offering restructuring alternatives.

The board has been wrestling with the issue of whether and how to restructure schools in the district since last summer, when they asked Smith to present reorganization options.

After Smith presented five restructuring options in August 2008, negative feedback from the community resulted in the board placing the issue as a straw poll question on the November election ballot.

Despite majority support for consolidation among those who voted on the straw poll question, a motion to move forward with restructuring died due to lack of a second on the motion.

When the board turned to a consultant for advice on what to do to improve the district’s educational system while also containing operating costs, the volunteer consultant’s recommendations included merging schools.

At its early August meeting the school board voted to cancel the restructuring plan it adopted in April, to take effect in the 2010-2011 school year. Under that plan the district would have been reorganized to include two K-4, two 5-8 and two 9-12 schools. The district currently has two K-8 schools; three K-12 schools and one 9-12 school.

The district was seeking a consultant to evaluate three possible reorganization plans:

- Two K-4 elementary schools, two 5-8 elementary schools and two 9-12 high schools.

- Four K-6 elementary schools and two 7-12 high schools.

- Three K-6 elementary schools and three 7-12 high schools.

They also were open to considering a new plan to be developed by the consultant.

The board will hold a 5 p.m. work session on Sept. 21, an hour before the next regular school board meeting, to hash out details of what they would actually like to accomplish in a reorganization or restructuring of the school district.