Entrance to new high school to be widened
School Board members authorized school superintendent Rick Neal to enter into contract with property owners of three lots on the south side of West Pickens Road (Arkansas Highway 94) adjacent to the 40-acre tract already owned by the school. At the September School Board meeting, realtor Dave Montgomery with ReMax Real Estate Results from Bentonville, told school officials that two property owners had agreed to sell and one had verbally committed.
“This would increase our entrance vision area toward the front of that property,” Neal said, adding that he preferred not to discuss pricing. The total acreage of the three lots is about five acres, he said.
Board member Jenny Wood asked Neal what the cost would be to access the property from It’ll Do Road. Neal said it would cost more than $1 million and expressed concern that It’ll Do Road is a county road.
“We’re ahead about $437,000 this year with revenue versus expenses,” Neal said, “so we could take care of this out of the current budget.”
Board member Sandy Button made the motion and Jeff Neil seconded the motion to enter into contract with the property owners. The vote was unanimous.
“The Pea Ridge School District is constantly aiming to be responsible fiscal stewards and make choices in the best interest of the entire community of Pea Ridge,” Rick Neal, school superintendent, said.
“During the millage campaign, we articulated that all plans were preliminary. It was our intention to build the new high school on Hazelton Road. The district was not able to come to an agreement with the developer on the trade of properties, so we have chosen to re-direct the plans toward creating an entrance off of Arkansas Highway 94 (West Pickens Road),” Neal said.
“The new plan isn’t what we originally anticipated but it has turned out to be an even better option! This positioning will allow an improved flow of traffic, better transportation for students, and ideal placement,” Neal said.
The district will be waiting for approval from State Facilities and the City Planning Commission in late October with aspirations to begin site dirt work in November.
“The future of our district has never been brighter!” Neal said. “We love providing an uncommon education experience for all of our students. These changes allow us to continue doing just that.”