GENTRY -- Randy Barrett, superintendent of Gentry Public Schools, addressed the city council at its Feb. 3 meeting to fill council members in on district plans and to seek the city's help by beginning to consider and address issues related to streets and traffic should a new high school be built adjacent to other campuses on Pioneer Lane.

To do so, he presented a "Who, What, When, Where and Why" outline to the council which includes a time line for the project should it continue to move forward. His revised handout follows:

WHO -- The Gentry School Board and the Voting Citizens of the Gentry School District.

WHAT -- A new high school, approximately 100,000 sq. ft., including a competition gym equipped to host Regional basketball tournaments. Estimated cost -- $20,000,000.

WHEN -- Apply for Partnership Funding -- March 2014. Ask voters for millage increase -- September 2015. Sell bonds -- between October and December 2015. Design Phase -- January to July 2016. Begin construction -- August 2016. School opens -- September 2018.

WHERE -- Practice Field, Pioneer Lane and SWEPCO Road.

WHY -- Classroom space required at high school due to a projected enrollment in the district of 1,600 students by 2023-24, expanded curriculum. Building a new high school will also allow a "shuffling of schools," i.e., the middle school will move into the old high school and the intermediate school will move into the middle school.

Barrett explained that much would depend on whether the district's application for partnership funding from the state -- which he estimated at 33 cents on the dollar for the construction cost but not counting the proposed gymnasium -- is approved. If approved, the state would fund approximately $4.5 to 5 million of the $20 million project, Barrett said. The district will not learn if its application has been approved until early in 2015.

One of the reasons the Gentry School Board chose to move forward on the project at this time is the availability of state funding which may not be there in years to come.

Barrett told council members moving all the campuses to the Pioneer Lane site, as is being planned, will increase traffic to the area and create traffic flow issues and street improvement needs. He expressed confidence that the city and the school district could work together to address these needs before the new school facility would open.

"As I noted last night, the district will need the city's help in devising a workable vehicular traffic flow," Barrett wrote in an email on Feb. 4. "The school and the city have long been good working partners and I am confident that, as we continue to work together, our efforts will mutually benefit the people we serve."

Barrett also said the district was considering its options in regard to the existing intermediate school campus which is more than 50 years old. He mentioned the possibility of removing wing buildings and using the main part of the old school for storage or maybe even for a preschool should the district choose to move in that direction. No decision or official proposal has yet been made.