School officials look to future of district

The steady increase of city and school population will necessitate the purchase of new property for a future school, according to school officials.

At a recent School Board study session which included Mayor Nathan See presenting information about city plans for the future.

Superintendent Keith Martin said new laws about FEMA shelters within 1,000 feet of building that house more than 50 people will affect anything built for the school district.

“It’s really expensive,” Martin said.

If anything is done to increase the size of either the High School or Intermediate School, which are not near a FEMA shelter, that law will “come into play,” said assistant superintendent Kevin Ramey. He said the current FEMA shelter behind the Junior High school is applicable for the school buildings nearby — Primary, Middle and Junior High.

“Let’s say we add on … it’s not just the building or the area you’re adding, it must include a FEMA shelter,” Martin said.

“We’re up about 2,000 people in 10 years … the city grew almost exactly 2,000 people … that tells me our growth is within the city limits,” Martin said. He said there are currently 2,455 students in the Pea Ridge schools.

“Right now, we can probably handle about 3,000-ish, if the numbers are perfect,” he said, explaining that there is more room in some grades than in others.

“It’s evident that how the city grows, we grow,” Martin said.

School Board member John Dye said: “It’s a great thing to have a good school system that has room to grow.”

Mayor See said officials with Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning estimate there will be 1 million people in northwest Arkansas by 2045. He said the census numbers are low and he, as well as other city leaders, believe the covid restrictions didn’t let census takers “get a true census.”

“A lot of us are advocating for a new census,” See said.

“We’ve got a lot of land and we have developers coming here buying property,” See said.

With the city expanding the sewer lines east of town, See said there are about 4,000 acres between Lee Town Road, Arkansas Highway 72 (East Pickens Road) and the Pea Ridge National Military Park that may be developed.

Martin asked board members whether they should consider acquiring more land.

“At the last millage election, the community was adamant that everything be central,” Martin said.

“We have about 15 acres here,” he said, referring to the property west of Weston Street and north of Hazelton Road. “That’s only two building sites.”

See said Lee Town Road will become a state highway and the city will “take over what is now 72 … which will stop at Dodd Road.” He said he has been conferring with officials from the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

Dye asked about the Intermediate School and Martin said the only thing he foresees doing there is addressing the cafeteria space but does not intend to add classrooms there.

“We’ve done all we can do there,” Dye said. “That would be throwing good money after bad. It will eventually outweigh it’s purpose.”

Martin said he believes the board should consider buying land.

“In my opinion, we’ll need to buy land… with truncated line going out there, it opens a tremendous potential,” Martin said. “While natural gas is attractive, it’s not essential.”

He noted that all the school buildings are in a line from west to east and could all be affected at one time.

“I would love to have a building that’s not in that linear line,” he said.

Martin said it may be wise to consider having an elementary school to serve a different side of town.

“That conversation is way off in the future, but land acquisition is just one piece of that discussion,” he said.

“We don’t have any land purchasing opportunities near here,” he said, explaining that often, when the school makes public the intention to buy land, the costs increase.

Martin explained to board members they need to study the plans and consider preparing for the 2024 master plan. He said those plans will be considered in a future study session.

“What direction do we want to go — construct new buildings (the most expensive) or add on or purchase land?”

He said the district officials need to stay three building sites ahead of the current phase.

“I do think we need to add onto the Primary, it’s the cheapest thing we can do,” he said.

“We’re not asking for money, just a plan,” Martin said, advocating that the board involves the community.

He said school building costs have increased dramatically since the construction of the new high school and current prices are about $400 per square foot.

Next month is not about purchasing land, it’s about understanding the partnership funds and the school finances, Martin said.