Mineral Springs building new school

The Mineral Springs School District is constructing a $19 million building to house students from kindergarten through the 12th grade.

The administrators agree it’s a surprise to see construction start on the building considering the Mineral Springs School District was about to close in 2013. The financial problems had increased and Superintendent Curtis Turner Jr. was faced with the dilemma of not being able to meet payroll for the teachers and staff.

During a ceremony last week to mark the beginning of construction, Turner and attorney John Walker, a lawyer for the school district and a state representative from Little Rock, said the district was in severe financial difficulty.

“Superintendent Turner was in the role of undertaker and was going to preside over a funeral. The district was broke,” Walker said.

“The school district had the lowest-paid teachers in the state,” he said. “Turner was vigilant and had a vision.”

Mineral Springs School Board member Mike Erwin used a prayer closet in his barn daily to pray to God for answers to keep the school district open.

He had attended meetings with the Arkansas Department of Education officials who said, “It’s over.”

Turner doubted the future of the district.

“I never dreamed this day would ever come. Four years ago, I thought this day was not possible, but obviously things happened beyond our control and caused this to happen,” Turner said, referring to the start of construction on the new building.

He found money in the budget to be used to replace buildings that were more than 50 years old.

“I honestly didn’t think we could do it. We did a lot of talking and praying and, behold, we figured a way to make it work, and the rest is history,” Turner said.

“I didn’t know if we could make it happen. Tim Erwin [ assistant administrator] helped me with starting the building project. He filled the void we needed to fill,” he said.