Plans for a new high school in Pocahontas, a new elementary school in Bryant, and a new elementary and middle school in Bentonville are among the construction and building improvement plans to receive $64.7 million in state aid.
The three-member Arkansas Commission for Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation on Friday allotted the state aid to 68 projects in all, including 41 projects that were proposed for the current fiscal year but that the state didn't have money to fund at the time.
The newly approved funding is the state's share of the cost of the local district building projects -- a percentage of the total project cost. The state's share is determined by a district's student enrollment and its local property tax wealth, with wealthier districts qualifying for smaller percentages of state building aid.
The financial aid for school buildings is the result of Arkansas' Academic Facilities Partnership Program. Lawmakers created the program in 2006 to modernize public schools in response to a state Supreme Court decision that had declared Arkansas' public schools inequitable, inadequate and unconstitutional.
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"This is good news for Arkansas students " Arkansas Education Secretary Johnny Key said Friday about the projects and particularly the agency's efforts to pick up the unfunded fiscal 2020 projects. "This is definitely a good day. And I think doing this within the budget is a good example of our being good custodians of taxpayer dollars. "
Key is chairman of the commission, whose other members are Larry Walther, director of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, and Bryan Scoggins, president of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority.
Just nine of the 68 projects are categorized as new spaces.
In addition to the schools planned in Pocahontas, Bryant and Bentonville, the new-space projects include additions to George Elementary School in Springdale, an arts and music wing at Ouachita Elementary, career education space at Poyen High, elementary and middle school classrooms in the Harmony Grove School District in Saline County, and a performing arts center in Fouke.
The other projects are classified as replacement spaces and replacement systems. They include new roofs, new heating and air conditioning systems, new fire alarm systems and cafeteria renovations.
They also include a replacement building for the Eastside Primary campus in the Warren School District and a single new elementary school to replace both the Pinewood and Warren Dupree campuses in the Jacksonville/North Pulaski district. The Jacksonville district is obligated in a long-standing federal school desegregation lawsuit to upgrade the condition of all its school buildings to make them equal to the newer schools elsewhere in Pulaski County.
Tim Cain, the director of the state facilities and transportation division, said he was surprised by the availability of money to pick up the unfunded carry-over projects, but he attributed it to the fact that there were relatively few new and replacement school plans for the next fiscal year. Those new-space projects are generally more costly.
"I'm just happy for all of them," Cain said about the districts getting funded for all the different projects. "I don't know if this will happen again. It all depends on what the mix is."
"You've got districts that are really growing, like Bentonville and Springdale and even some in Saline County, but you also have districts all over the state that are going to get roofs replaced and new HVAC units," Cain said.
The Pine Bluff and Earle school districts are examples of districts in the state that struggle financially but have projects approved for building aid.
The promised state aid does not make new construction an immediate slam dunk in the districts.
Karen Walters, superintendent of the Bryant School District -- which is to receive almost $7 million for a 700-seat elementary school -- said Friday that she has much to discuss with the Bryant School Board on the matter.
"We have not started the process at all," Walters said about planning and land acquisition for a new campus -- in large part because of the covid-19 pandemic.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson closed schools statewide to more than 470,000 students in mid-March in an effort to slow the spread of the fatal disease. State and school district leaders are now starting to explore ways to reopen schools safely in August.
"We had growth this year of about 200 students, but we are going to be anxious to see what our enrollment is going to be this next year," Walters said. "We'll discuss it and look at our options. I have to tell you, I'm a little concerned under the current circumstances. We may have kids that stay home and do online learning. There are a lot of things up in the air."
Jerry Martens, superintendent of the Pocahontas School District, said Friday that the more than $9.2 million from the state will go toward a planned $22 million high school, auditorium, cafeteria and gymnasium in that district.
The new construction, which hinges on the approval of a property tax increase by voters, would replace the district's 72-year-old high school and an attached building that is approaching 100 years old and that now serves as a cafeteria and kitchen. The building was the original home of Williams Baptist College before it moved to Walnut Ridge, he said.
Martens said the existing campus has been well maintained but that the plumbing and electrical systems are not satisfactory for the demands of a modern school. Additionally, the existing campus is not as accessible for people with disabilities as it needs to be.
"It's wore out," Martens said about the campus. "It's not built for the future of education, what our kids need. That's what we are trying to look out for."
District leaders had initially planned for a special tax election in August, but that has been put on hold as a result of the coronavirus and efforts to minimize gatherings of more than 10 people to slow the spread. Martens said he hopes the vote can be held as soon as possible.
The rules for the state partnership program say that each approved and funded project must be executed by the school district and the state within 60 days of the commission's funding. The project must be under construction, as evidenced by a signed construction contract, within 18 months of the commission's funding it, and it must be completed within four years.
A Section on 05/09/2020