Superintendent Asks Board To Make Decision On School Issue

PRAIRIE GROVE — The School Board needs to make a decision on whether to seek a millage increase to build a primary school and a new high school basketball gym at its June 11 meeting, if it wants to place the question on the September school election ballot, according to Allen Williams, school superintendent.

If a millage increase is not on the September ballot, the next opportunity probably would be a special election in January.

Williams addressed the board at its May 21 meeting, choosing to move from his seat at the board table to the podium in front of the members.

He pointed out the school district has been discussing its facility needs since he first arrived on campus more than three years

ago. Plans were postponed then for several reasons, including the economy, and to give the school the time to look at its needs and what it could afford.

Since that time, the district has built a new physical education building and additional classrooms at the high school for about $ 2.6 million using a nointerest federal loan and savings from the district’s building fund.

“We continue to look at our needs,” Williams said. “One thing we need to know is that we’re a growing district.”

Projections are that Prairie Grove will add at least 300 students over the next 10 years. Driving around town, Williams said he has seen at least 14-15 houses under construction.

Williams said he believes the district’s first and second priorities would be a new primary school and a new competitive basketball gym for the high school.

Most of the primary building is 50 years old and Williams estimated it would cost more than $2 million to remodel the building.

The older section has major roof and plumbing problems. The district is proposing to tear down the old primary building and keep the newer sections for other uses, possibly administrative offices.

It then would add 28 classrooms onto the intermediate school for primary students and both schools would share an expanded library and cafeteria.

Williams said it would cost $2-3 million to remodel the high school gym or about twice that much to build a new one that would last 50 years.

Williams gave several reasons for recommending that the board move ahead on both projects:

• Prairie Grove has been approved for a $ 940,000 federal grant to build a safe room that also would be used as physical education space for the new primary school.

• The Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation has approved $462,056 in state partnership funds for a safe room and another $957,344 for the primary school.

• Interest rates are still relatively low.

He noted both buildings would be “major” projects and the district cannot afford either one without a millage increase. The total cost would be “in the neighborhood” of $15 million, he said

Williams did not have a recommendation yet for a millage increase, explaining he is still waiting to receive information from the state on whether Prairie Grove will receive more partnership funds for its primary building.

Prairie Grove was approved for about $2 million less in partnership funds than what the school district expected.

Williams and other school officials have met with the state but have not heard yet if the school will receive more money.

“We need to decide what we want to do going forward,” Williams said, adding he believes the two projects would take care of the district’s needs for the next 10 years. “We’re to the point we need to make some kind of decision.”

The board will consider Williams’ recommendation at 6 p.m., Tuesday, June 11, in the board room.