School district surveys patrons on building plans

Scenario #4
Scenario #4

GENTRY -- A short online survey is now available for residents in the Gentry School District to gain input on future building plans for the school district and to determine how much taxpayers are willing to pay for such a project.

Those living within the school district are asked to go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/GPS_FacilitiesSURVEY_2015 to take the survey. The survey can also be easily found by going to the home page of the school district website: www.gentrypioneers.com.

The choices include five scenarios for future building projects designed to provide modern and safe facilities for students in the Gentry Intermediate School since parts of that campus are approximately 50 years old and have, according to the school district and the Arkansas Department of Education, exceeded their useful lifespan for school facilities.

Scenario 1 in the survey would be to demolish the older wing buildings at the existing intermediate school campus and build a new standalone classroom in that space. Portable classrooms would have to be rented during the construction. Estimated cost is $3 million to $4 million and one to three additional mills.

Scenario 2 in the survey would be to use expansion space on the southwest corner of the middle school to build classrooms for the fourth and fifth grades and to move the third grade into the classrooms used by specialty classes at the primary school. The scenario would involve the reconfiguration of the schools to make the primary school include kindergarten through grade three and the middle school to include grades four through eight. This would likely be the least expensive option but could create some crowding problems at the primary school in the near future. Estimated cost is $3 million to $4 million and one to three additional mills.

Scenario 3 in the survey would be to build a new intermediate school in the district-owned land behind (to the west of) the primary school. Estimated cost is $10 million to $12 million and four to five additional mills.

Scenario 4 in the survey would include the construction of a fifth-grade classroom on the southwest corner of the middle school, a fourth-grade classroom in the circle drive to the north of the primary school and a third-grade classroom on the northwest corner of the primary school. This option would include the reconfiguration of the middle school to include grades five through eight and the primary school to include grades kindergarten through four. Estimated cost is $5 million to $6 million and two to four additional mills.

Scenario 5 in the survey would be the construction of a new high school with a competition gym to the north of the existing high school and moving the middle school into the existing high school facility and the intermediate school into the existing middle school facility. This was the option the school board had hoped to accomplish with $5 million to $6 million in partnership funding from state, but that request was denied, making the costs in taxes much higher for school district residents. Estimated cost is $20 million and eight to 10 additional mills.

All of the above options, except for Scenario 1, would also require an additional access to the Pioneer Lane campuses and a driveway or street on the west side of the facilities to ease traffic on Pioneer Lane. Whether that expense would be the school district's responsibility, the city's or a shared cost has not yet to be determined. A rough estimate of possible cost was approximately $250,000.

Another factor which could influence the school board's choices for future construction would be the possible conversion charter school under consideration by the district. Should plans come together and approval be given, additional facility space may be needed for vocational training and additional funding, too, might become available to get the vocational programs started.

Another option on the survey was "None of the Above," which could include leaving things as they are and not raising taxes or possibly a different scenario not included in the survey.

The survey is scheduled to end at noon on Sunday, May 17, with results to be published on the school district's website after they are released to the school board on the evening of May 18.

For those who do not have access to a computer or Internet, computers are available at the Gentry Public Library and on each school campus for people to take the survey. Printed copies are also available at each campus office and at the central office.

General News on 05/13/2015