Board looks at rezoning options

Elementary opening in Rogers next fall may impact nearby schools

ROGERS — School District officials are weighing a few alternatives to an initial proposal to rezone elementary attendance boundaries.

The School Board met Tuesday to discuss the options. Superintendent Marlin Berry said he expects to present a revised recommendation to the board at its regular monthly meeting Tuesday. The board is expected to vote on the new zones at its December meeting.

Rezoning is necessary to accommodate the opening of Fairview Elementary School next fall at West Garrett and South Bellview roads. Three neighboring elementary schools — Darr, Bellview and Tucker — could be affected by rezoning.

The initial proposal, developed by a committee in September, called for splitting Darr’s zone roughly in half and making Fairview’s zone out of the east half of that split. A chunk of Darr’s zone on its north side would shift to Bellview, while another small portion would shift to Tucker.

The committee’s recommendation would have Fairview opening with 337 students. Darr, which has 750 students, would open with 318 next fall. Bellview has 409 students and would gain 50, according to the district’s projections.

Fourth-graders have the option of staying at their school for fifth grade under a grandfather provision. Any younger siblings of those fourth-graders may also stay there for one year.

The district last month collected public feedback to its plan, which resulted in a few options.

One alternative is to take a piece of the south part of Tucker’s zone and add it to Fairview’s, adding 80 students to Fairview and dropping Tucker from 622 to 542. Tucker is the second-largest elementary school in the district with the potential for more growth, so its zone could stand to shrink, according to officials.

Another option is to take the part of Darr’s zone pegged for Bellview and move it to Fairview’s zone instead. Those who suggested this said students could walk or ride their bikes to Fairview by going straight across West Street and hook up with the trail, which leads to Fairview. Also, students in this neighborhood would stay in their feeder pattern to Elmwood Middle School instead of joining Bellview, which feeds to Kirksey Middle School.

The third option — which Berry said most likely will be the administration’s recommendation — is a combination of the first two alternatives, meaning Fairview would take 50 students originally designated for Bellview and additional students from Tucker’s zone. Fairview would open with 339 students while Darr would have 419, according to the district’s projections.

Either way, Darr will see a drastic reduction in enrollment. Officials said they don’t want to cut it too much, because the school will lose many of its teachers as well. That could “really impact their academic environment,” said board member Amy Horn.

Darr opened in 2013 with about 330 students and has more than doubled in enrollment since then, Berry said.