BENTONVILLE -- The School Board on Monday will consider buying about 48 acres in southwest Bentonville for the construction of at least one school.
The property at 9002 S.W. Featherston Road is east of the Riverwalk Estates and Quailridge subdivisions and just north of Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard.
Next board meeting
The Bentonville School Board’s last scheduled meeting was postponed because of weather. It has been rescheduled and combined with the board’s pre-agenda meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
Source: Staff report
The School District has reached a tentative agreement with the seller to pay $1.3 million for the land, according to documents included with the board's meeting agenda. The price comes out to $27,669 per acre.
Documents identify the seller as the Coughlin Family Revocable Living Trust.
The site is large enough to accommodate more than one school. The state requires sites for elementary schools to be at least 10 acres, plus one acre for every 100 students, said Paul Wallace, director of facilities.
Board members were invited to tour the site individually with district officials. Wallace said Friday he wasn't certain how many board members went.
District officials have spent months examining options to build another elementary school in time for the 2017-18 school year. Much of the search for land focused on Bella Vista, but officials said they had difficulty finding a suitable site for a reasonable price there.
They discussed the possibility of building a school outside district boundaries -- either in the Pea Ridge or Gravette school districts -- to serve Bella Vista kids. Pea Ridge and Gravette officials objected, however, and the Bentonville board voted unanimously in January not to pursue that option.
The site the district is targeting is about two miles away from the closest elementary school. Michael Poore, superintendent, said he's pleased with the location and the negotiated price.
"I think it also makes sense because it's tied very close to where I think the city is going to put a park in," Poore said. "In the future, we're going to have to look farther west, but for right now this is a good spot."
The board will also consider Monday beginning the process of selecting an architect and construction firm for the next elementary school.
The district has 10 elementary schools. The two elementary schools on the south side of town -- Willowbrook and Central Park -- are by far the district's largest for elementary students with enrollments of more than 800.
Jack Schreder and Associates performed a demographics analysis for the district last year. The firm recommended the district build two more elementary schools within the next 10 years, one on the north side and one on the south side. The firm also recommended acquiring a site for a new middle school.
Dave Perozek can be reached at dperozek@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWADaveP.
NW News on 02/28/2015