Board approves boundary plan

Panel tables vote on buying property for new school

FAYETTEVILLE — The School Board on Thursday unanimously approved a plan to move middle school attendance boundaries, a decision meant to alleviate overcrowding at McNair Middle School and help the district in other ways.

But the board tabled a vote on buying land that’s key to the package.

The board voted 7-0 to approve the attendance zone concept called B2, which involves building a new Woodland Junior High School and converting Colbert Middle School to a junior high. The current Woodland would be converted into a middle school, with Ramay Junior High eventually having to be relocated as part of a project expected to take three years.

Superintendent John Mulford endorsed B2.

Justin Eichmann echoed comments from fellow board members, saying the proposal “makes the most sense.”

The board voted 7-0 to hold off on a decision on spending $4.6 million for about 28 acres at the corner of Joyce Boulevard and Crossover Road to build a new school as part of the B2 plan. The land address is listed as 3145 E. Joyce Blvd., and the parcel costs about $165,600 per acre, according to the district.

A traffic study on the property came in Thursday night and hadn’t been digested yet, and Mulford said he wasn’t comfortable having a vote on the land purchase before fully dissecting that report and a soil study that was dated Thursday.

Blake Jorgensen, co-owner of engineering firm Jorgensen and Associates in Fayetteville, addressed the board about the soil study performed on the property by MTA Engineers of Springdale. Jorgensen said there was nothing in the soil

report to prevent the board from moving forward with the boundary plan.

Mulford said in January the district made an offer on the property and was in the 90day due diligence phase. The offer is contingent on board approval and expires March 19, he said.

With that deadline looming, board President Nika Waitsman said a special meeting will be announced in the next couple of weeks to address the land question.

Four citizens addressed the board and raised concerns about B2.

Peter Nierengarten, environmental director for the city of Fayetteville, said the proposal puts an unfair transportation burden on Asbell Elementary School students, who would be in a feeder pattern that sends them to McNair Middle School. He said they would travel 63% farther to McNair than would Vandergriff Elementary students, who also feed into McNair under the plan. Nierengarten said students would have to get up before 6 a.m. to catch a bus to McNair. He asked the board to hold off on the decision.

The shortest distance from Asbell to McNair was listed as 5.1 miles, via West North Street and North Mission Boulevard, according to a Google search.

Michael Ward, another citizen, also was concerned about the trip to McNair, mentioning the emotional effects and stress for students and families who have long school commutes.

Mulford thanked the speakers for their willingness to “reach out and share your opinions.” He said the Asbell situation was the top challenge with the B2 proposal.

“None of them are perfect, and there are challenges with each,” Mulford said of the scenarios considered for the district’s boundary project.

Even if the Joyce and Crossover plan doesn’t work out, B2 may still be a viable option because there are other property possibilities in that area at the corner of Gregg Avenue and Van Asche Drive, Mulford told the board.

District leaders and consulting firm MGT worked on the project, and Mulford previously presented five scenarios to the board for shifting the boundaries. The district reached out to parents, the community, teachers and students to gauge what’s important to them and what they’d like to see.

Mulford emphasized developing feeder patterns that keep students together as they advance from elementary school to middle school and on to junior high. Other priorities are increasing proximity to schools for students and parents and improving transportation to and from schools in the district, Mulford said, as well as having three middle schools and three junior highs. Fayetteville currently has two junior highs and three middle schools.

The overall project is expected to take three years, giving people time to adjust to the coming changes, Mulford and the School Board have noted. Mulford said forging the three middle school-three junior high system wouldn’t immediately solve McNair’s crowding but provides light at the end of the tunnel.

Under the B2 scenario, Woodland construction would start this year, with completion planned for the 2027-28 school year, Mulford said. When Woodland is finished, the district will look to build a new Ramay — which will remain where it is until then.

The Joyce property is 2.8 miles from McNair Middle School and a straight shot down Crossover Road, allowing for an easy commute between buildings, according to information from the district.

Here’s how the boundaries and projected enrollment numbers break down under B2, according to the district.

• Holcomb and Owl Creek elementary students would funnel into Holt Middle School, then to the converted Colbert Junior High. The combined middle school and junior high enrollment (fifth through eighth grades) would be 462.

• Asbell, Butterfield and Vandergriff elementaries would feed into McNair and on to Woodland, for a middle school and junior high enrollment of 577.

• Happy Hollow, Leverett, Root and Washington elementary students would go to the converted Woodland Middle School and on to Ramay. The combined middle school-junior high enrollment would be 610.

Building a new school can be paid for through second-lien bonds, which allow the district to keep the current voter-approved millage rate, Mulford said.

The board voted in December to leave middle school boundaries unchanged for the 2024-25 school year.

The district is also launching choice learning programs at Colbert and Holt middle schools for the 2024-25 school year as part of the plan to relieve overcrowding at McNair, which is about 10% over capacity, Mulford said in January. Enrollment was around 750, and the goal is to get down to between 600 and 625 students, he said. It’s hoped the choice options encourage voluntary student transfers from McNair to Colbert or Holt.