GRAVETTE — Two motions, involving new construction projects for the Gravette school system, failed to move forward during a meeting of the school board last Monday evening. A third motion involving the projects gained approval.

The proposed projects involve construction of a new elementary school in an area of Bella Vista which is located in Gravette School District 20, and the addition of five or six classrooms to the high school complex.

A motion to table consideration of the projects until February failed with a 3-3 tie vote. Opposing that motion were board members Jack Skillett, Susan Santos and Jim Singleton. Voting to table the discussion were Dan Alsup, Dan Yates and Jay Oliphant. Board member John Edwards was not present.

A second motion to schedule an election to put the project plan to a vote of school patrons, also ended in a 3-3 tie. Board members reversed their votes from the first motion.

Favoring the election were members Skillett, Santos and Singleton. Yates, Alsup and Oliphant were opposed.

A third motion, which authorized the district’s architect firm, Crafton-Tull, to continue the project planning and design phase, at a cost of $22,500, was approved by a 5-1 vote. Board member Dan Yates was the lone dissenter.

The Bella Vista school has been under consideration since land for the facility was offered, at no cost to the school, by Cooper Communities in 2010. The property is located on the south side of Lancashire Blvd., approximately a mile east of the stop light entrance to The Highlands. The plot contains about 15 acres and, according to Superintendent Richard Page, the property meets State Department of Education requirements and discussion is underway to possibly increase the property size. The offer was accepted by the board in 2010 and is good for a 10-year period.

Increased enrollment in the high school, which was completed in 2006, is expected to requireadditional classroom space by the time such an addition can be completed. Both projects have been subjects of discussion by recent boards.

An accurate cost of the projects has not been determined. A decision on whether the K-5 elementary school will have two orthree rooms for each grade, and whether the high school addition will be five, or possibly six rooms has not been made. Preliminary estimates have indicated the cost could be a $14 to $16 million fi gure. Board discussion has indicated that no more than a 4-mill increase will be sought.

The current district millage rate is 37.2 mills, the lowest of any district in the Benton-Washington county area. If a four-mill increase is required, the district millage of 41.2 mills will remain lower than most districts.

Com-parable rates include: Rogers 38.4 mills; Gentry and Farmington 42.6 mills; Pea Ridge 44.8 mills; Siloam Springs 45 mills and Bentonville 46.6 mills.

When the design-phase drawings/documents are completed, the district is expecting to petition the state for a grant similar to those awarded Bentonville and Springdale for their construction projects. If approved, this could impact the financing plan, as could the interest rate for bonds, which at this time is in the low 4-percent area.

Several citizens werepresent at the meeting to voice concerns and/or to seek additional information. At least three citizens spoke with the apparent consensus that additional public input is needed concerning the projects.

During the meeting, which lasted slightly more than an hour, the board approved a bid of $18,450 for purchase of 20 computers through a grant from “Project Lead the Way.” The $7,081 cost to install outlet computer posts to serve the machines will come from the district general fund.

Following a brief executive session before adjourning, the board approved hiring a bus driver for the transportation department.

News, Pages 1 on 11/20/2013