GENTRY — A change in future building plans for the Gentry Intermediate School which also includes demolition of the main building and commons area was proposed at the Gentry School Board meeting on Dec. 14 with the board agreeing to the changes.
As a result of a meeting with the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation to see whether the Gentry Public School District could expect to receive much assistance with plans to demolish the wing buildings on the intermediate school campus and build a new classroom building there, Randy Barrett, district superintendent, said he was told the district would likely only receive about $292,000 for a project expected to cost $6 million. He said the division’s space calculations counted the commons area as usable classroom space and hurt the district’s chances of being approved for any significant amount of state aid for the new school construction plans.
As a result, Barrett proposed adding the main building to the demolition list since the building is older and has been a source of ongoing problems with its leaky roof. He proposed keeping the gymnasium, cafeteria and multipurpose building but demolishing the wing buildings and all the buildings on the south side of the bus tunnel.
Barrett said the Facilities Division wouldn’t approve of demolishing the multipurpose building (which includes the gym, cafeteria, music and art rooms) because it is too new — built about 1981. Six other buildings (located between the administration building and the special education building near S. Giles) which also would be saved but not used as intermediate school classrooms were built in about 1987, according to Barrett.
According to Barrett, this would put the entire intermediate school under one roof. And, should it become necessary in the future, the multipurpose building could be replaced and reconnected via the bus tunnel to the proposed new school building.
The project, if approved, would possibly require some temporary portable classrooms while construction is underway. Barrett also said the state would likely allow the project to be completed in phases so that some existing classrooms could be used during parts of the construction and demolished later to complete another phase of the construction. He also suggested the possibility the third grade could be kept at the primary school during the construction, with fifth grade possibly being at the middle school.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to put all the schools together (at one location),” school board president Coye Cripps said at the meeting, explaining that he did not wish to have all the students on one big campus should there be a natural disaster, tornado or active shooter incident. He also said having a new intermediate school at the current location would work better for traffic.
“It seems to me,” Barrett said, “if we are going to ask people for a millage increase, we ought to give them something they can be proud of.”
In answer to a question from the public, Barrett said the new facility would not necessarily provide for all future growth over the useful lifetime of the building but it would be sufficient for the immediate future since enrolment numbers have levelled off and the district has not seen significant growth in recent years.
Cost estimates for the amended intermediate school building project and the millage increase which will asked of voters was not yet available.
Other Business
In other business, the board approved on its first reading an increase in the pay of substitute teachers from $60 to $70 per day for non-certified substitutes and from $70 to $80 for certified substitutes. The increase, the first since 2005, is necessary to meet new minimum wage requirements. The board approved on its final reading a policy change which increases the daily meal reimbursement amount for teachers and support staff from $30 to $35 when they must travel to events and trainings.
The board approved the resignations of Natasha Jennen as migrant clerk and transport driver and Tonya Leroy as high school day custodian. Hired were Courtney Millsap as a special education teacher contingent upon her qualifying for the alternative licensing program and Brad Jackson as Gentry Middle School night custodian at Step 6.