PG School Board Prepares For New Junior High

PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove School Board made several decisions last week that deal with the district’s plans to build a new junior high building for seventhand eighth-graders.

The new school is contingent on Prairie Grove receiving state partnership money to help with construction costs. The district applied for the money but will not receive an answer on its application until May.

The district proposes to build a new school with a cost that could range from $8 million to $10 million, depending on the actual size and amenities. The current plan is to build a school with 49,000 square feet. The state would pay for about 57 percent of the approved square footage..

Reba Holmes, superintendent of schools, said the district is optimistic about its chances for partnership money but is still waiting for final word. She said plans are being put in place, just in case, so the district will be “on go” and

ready to move forward in

May.

“We’ve been sorta, kinda told it’s a pretty sure thing,” Holmes said.

If Prairie Grove does not receive the partnership funds, plans for a new school will halt for the time being, Holmes said.

Looking toward a new school, the board approved a recommendation to change the responsibilities for administrators at Prairie Grove Middle School. The action, effective immediately, was part of the board’s consent agenda Feb. 19.

Shayne Taylor has been named principal for fifth and sixth grades at the middle school and assistant principal Jed Davis has been named principal for seventh and eighth grades at the middle school.

Davis started July 1, 2018, as an assistant principal for Prairie Grove High School but was then reassigned to the middle school after the board decided to name Holmes, who was middle school principal at the time, as interim superintendent. Last month, the school board voted to remove interim from Holmes’ title and named her superintendent for the 2019-20 school year.

Davis and administrative assistant Michelle Cate have moved to new offices in the old eighth-grade building. Taylor is in his same place in the administration office at the middle school.

Holmes said the changes are in anticipation of a new junior high school.

The board also voted to use a construction manager for the new school, instead of seeking hard bids. The board will request proposals from construction managers, rank the firms and then call in several for interviews.

The board already had approved Architecture Plus Inc., of Fort Smith, as the architectural firm to design a new junior high building.

In addition, board members approved a motion to file an application with the Arkansas Department of Education for a permit to issue secondlien construction bonds for up to $6.1 million to pay for the school’s portion of the costs.

The application names First Security-Beardsley as the fiscal agent for the bond issue and authorizes Holmes to accept or reject bids submitted with the sale of the construction bonds.

In a phone interview, Dan Lovelady with First Security-Beardsley said he recommended the district apply for a maximum of $6 million in second-lien bonds but it will only issue what it needs. The state Board of Education will consider the application at its April meeting, Lovelady said.

Lovelady explained that a second-lien bond issue is similar to someone having a second mortgage on a home. Revenue in excess of the amount dedicated to the district’s debt service can be used for a second-lien bond issue, Lovelady said.

Holmes said the school’s annual debt would be around $300,000 for a $5 million bond issue and about $340,000 for a $6 million bond issue.

The new school would be located on the site of the former Prairie Grove Primary School, which was torn down in 2016. The district kept the former second-grade wing, which is currently being used for some high school classes.

Holmes said the district is completing all the paperwork needed for a new school to make sure its “ducks are in a row.” She said she is a “very frugal person” and wants to make sure the district can support this and also support its present day facilities.

If the district receives state partnership money, Holmes said school officials are comfortable with the costs and confident that Prairie Grove can afford and pay for a new school.

If all goes as planned, Holmes said the new junior high would open in fall 2021.