School facilities plan approved
School board members approved a six-year facilities master plan that includes state funding applications for two projects.
District director of operations Shane Patrick and consultant Aliza Jones presented the plan during a public hearing, which took place at the beginning of the school board meeting on Thursday.
The plan includes an application for state partnership funding for the installation of a new fire alarm system on the intermediate school campus at a cost of $291,613 and the replacement of the Panther Gym roof at the middle school at a cost of
$577,026, according to Patrick. If approved, the projects would be funded during the 2021-2023 funding cycle.
Both projects received state approval during the last two funding cycles, but the state legislature did not choose to fund them, Patrick said. He is hopeful they will be approved and funded during the next cycle, he said.
“We are maintaining (the fire alarm system and roof ) with our maintenance department to make sure they are staying in good condition but they are at the end of their life-cycle,” he said.
The state requires school districts to approve a six-year master plan each year, said Jones, who prepared the plan.
The 15-part plan focuses on capitol improvements, such as building projects, rather than maintenance of effort projects such as repairing flooring or painting, Jones said. It must include information about the district’s demographics, poverty level, median income, the general population of the community, the current school population and enrollment projections.
According to the document, Siloam Springs has a population of 16,991 and a median income of $45,973 with 22.9 percent of the population living at or below the national poverty level. The school district is one of the seven largest employers in the community. It currently has an enrollment of approximately 4,381 students and is expected to grow by 484 students over the next 10 years, the plan states.
Currently, the district is growing by “leaps and bounds” and has already exceeded this year’s enrollment projections by 100 students, Jones said. When this year’s enrollment numbers are recorded in January or February, Jones said she expects state enrollment projections for coming years to go up even more.
“We are way ahead of where the state thinks we should be (on enrollment) so we will have to continue to look at things in the future to adapt spaces to make sure we have room for the children and eventually we will have to build a new elementary school at some point,” Patrick said.
Other projects in the plan, which are either in progress or in the planning stages, include:
• Building or purchasing a new administrative office
• Building a new indoor practice/workout facility at the high school
• Building a new elementary school
• Renovating the stadium with track at the middle school (in progress)
• Renovating the intermediate school for expansion of the Panther Health and Wellness Center
• Building a baseball/ softball/tennis complex.
Additional projects to be completed in future years beyond the scope of the six-year plan include:
• Building a new prekindergarten center
• Building a new maintenance/warehouse/storage facility expanding the bus garage
• Building a new performing arts center at the high school
• Replacing roofs, installing security cameras and upgrading major building components of other buildings as they reach the end of their life-cycle
• Acquiring land and constructing additional facilities as the district enrollment continues to increase.