Bryant school building starts rise

LITTLE ROCK — Bryant High School students will attend classes in a new building in 2013, administrators said Monday.

School Board members and district leaders broke ground on a $28 million, 114,000-square-foot facility that will house 35 classrooms, a media center and administrative space.

The addition, which will replace several structures on the 25-building campus, will be financed by a 3.9 mill school tax increase, approved by voters in March 2009, Superintendent Randy Rutherford said.

“We’re blessed,” he said. “Our community’s been good to us, and this will certainly be good for the students.”

Money generated by the school property tax increase will also pay for new security cameras throughout the district and smaller renovation projects at several schools, district spokesman Jessica Bollen said.

The district razed three buildings on the high school campus, brought in 10 portable buildings to house classrooms during the three-year building process and set up a construction staging area, she said.

The high school expansion is needed to accommodate growing enrollment in the Bryant School District, which has increased its student count by 23 percent since 2003. The district,which is south of Little Rock, has nearly 8,000 students.

Leaders project the high school will enroll more than 2,500 student in grades nine through 12 when it is completed.

Bryant High School has 2,319 students for the 2010-2011 school year, making it the third largest high school in the state, according to the Arkansas Department of Education.

Construction plans include new routes on campus to help students avoid dangerous areas, Rutherford said.

“When you have a student body that’s over 2,300 students, you know taking a big chunk of land is going to cause some issues,” he said.

Administrators say they hope the high school building will be the third in the district to receive an environmental building designation.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification is a designation granted by the U.S. Green Building Council to commercial buildings, homes and schools that incorporate ecologically friendly materials and building practices.

Bethel Middle and Hurricane Creek Elementary schools, both in the Bryant district, have received the designation, according to a registry on the building council’s website.

While the building designation may cost more initially, incorporating energy efficient light fixtures, heating and cooling systems will save the district utilities costs in the long term, Rutherford said.

“I think you’ve always got to be good stewards of the public’s money,” he said.