Pulaski County district set to start on campus design

A classroom is shown in this 2015 file photo.
A classroom is shown in this 2015 file photo.

Days after a federal judge directed the Pulaski County Special School District to propose a plan by Aug. 1 for equalizing two of its newest campuses, the School Board on Tuesday authorized staff members to come up with a starting plan.

The board voted 6-0 in favor of a request by Curtis Johnson, the district's executive director of operations, to have an architect design a layout and give a cost estimate for an 11,000-square-foot building to potentially house the Junior ROTC and Driven academic programs at the Mills University Studies High School campus.

The board took the action on Mills planning at a meeting in which Superintendent Charles McNulty attempted to allay concerns expressed by dozens of Robinson Middle School parents about course scheduling at the school for next year. The district is directing that all district middle schools teach English/language arts and math for 80 minutes every day. All other core classes and electives will be 42 minutes each.

McNulty said the early plan for building enhancements at Mills High would provide "talking points" in conferring with Mills community members and representatives of Black students known as the McClendon intervenors in a long-running federal desegregation lawsuit.

Chief U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. last week ruled that the Pulaski County Special district has met its desegregation obligations and is now able to operate without oversight from the court -- with the exception of some facilities and possible legal-fees issues.

The judge directed the county district to propose to him a plan "to comply ... and square up" the construction differences between the Mills High and the "superior" Robinson Middle School buildings. The judge said that if the Mills construction rated an A grade, Robinson Middle -- built at the same time but in the more affluent, growing western edge of the district -- rated an A++.

The judge said building plans for Mills, which is in a lower-income area with a higher Black population, were "squeezed" by the district's simultaneous construction of Robinson. Classroom sizes were reduced to the state minimum at Mills, he said. Hallways shrunk in width and by 3 feet in height. Overall capacity was reduced from 750 students to 700.

The judge also noted the more decorative light fixtures, flooring and walls at Robinson and the 2,200-seat arena versus the 1,100 seat gymnasium at Mills.

"The many fixes in the last two years are commendable," Marshall wrote about district efforts to install upgrades at Mills. " They are not, however, a complete cure for the resulting inequity."

Devin Bates, an attorney for the school district, in the federal desegregation lawsuit, said that Marshall in his ruling "put the ball back in the board's court" to determine what the proposed improvements will be.

The judge will have the authority to decide whether to accept, reject or modify what the district ultimately proposes -- in consultation with the McClendon intervenors who are represented by an attorney team headed by Austin Porter Jr.

While Johnson asked specifically for authority to move on the planning for a Driven and ROTC building, he told the board that Mills' small competition gym and lack of a girls softball field also need to be addressed.

In response to board member Brian Maune's questions about the priority that would be given to the gym issue, Johnson said there are different "pieces of the puzzle" to consider. That could include building an arena, making the current competition gym the auxiliary gym and converting the current auxiliary gym into needed classrooms.

Board members Shelby Thomas and Tina Ward emphasized the importance of conferring with Mills families and community members and the intervenors before any final decisions are made.

Ward said a plan can't be forced on the community.

Board member Stephen Delaney said it would be his preference to have a work session to identify funding sources and balance those with identified building needs.

"We have lots of funding swirling around," he said about federal covid-19 relief funding and the potential to issue second-lien bonds to raise construction funds.

Linda Remele, the board president, said fixes need to be made.

"We want to do this right," she said.

The board on Tuesday also approved the purchase and installation of new turf on the Maumelle High football field and a parking lot extension at Sylvan Hills High School. It also authorized district staff members to get preliminary plans and cost estimates for a track and field at Maumelle High.

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