School officials buy land

Preparing for continued growth, Pea Ridge school officials purchased 77.2 acres of land on Hayden Road.

The property, owned by Tom Hayes and the Hayes Revocable Trust, was previously planned for a subdivision. School officials bought it for $485,000.

“The land acquisition was purchased at a very reasonable price compared to other land currently on the market,” Rick Neal, superintendent, said. “We bought 77 acres for compared to what 30 acres would cost in some locations… We don’t know how quickly we’ll grow.”

Neal said he plans to have a strategic planning session with the School Board to consider both a five-year and a 10-year plan including a facilities plan.

The land, north of City Park, is west of Hayden Road and east of Easterling Road. Currently, the property is leased to J.C. Beaver for $6,000 per year until April 1, 2015.

“With the projected growth, with the issue of School Choice and the direction the district is heading with PRMBA (Pea Ridge Manufacturing and Business Academy), the overall concept we’re doing for kids is going to attract more people to come to Pea Ridge,” Neal said. “I think we’re considering several ideas.”

Neal said the facility on the southwest corner of Pickens and Weston Street is “locked into a high school environment” and the most cost effective plan would be to build a new primary school on the Hayden Road property and convert the current primary school into a middle school, move the ninth and 10th grades to the current middle school and have 11th and 12th grades in the current high school.

“We’re going to be asking for public input, district-wide input,” Neal said. “I’ve immediately applied for partnership funds again. The reason we would be attractive to that is because of our growth; we’re eligible for 40 to 45 percent funding.”