School district receives Partnership funding approval

Drawings by Hight Jackson Above are drawings of the proposed new classroom facility at the Gentry Intermediate School campus.
Drawings by Hight Jackson Above are drawings of the proposed new classroom facility at the Gentry Intermediate School campus.

GENTRY -- Approval for the proposed Gentry Intermediate School classroom Partnership project has been given the Gentry School District by the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation. The approval means the state could contribute approximately $1.2 million toward the building of a new classroom facility on the intermediate school campus and the new roof on the building north of the bus tunnel which houses the cafeteria and the art and music classrooms if the voters approve a 3.1 mill tax increase in the School Board Election September 20.

Also approved for funding by the ADPSAFT was the system renovation in the new agriculture building at the high school. The upgrades to the high school electrical service and the building of a new diesel mechanic laboratory and career classroom space were not approved.

In an email to school board members, Randy Barrett, district superintendent, wrote: "There was only one 'surprise' to me on five projects we submitted and that was the denial of the electrical upgrades at the high school. I say 'surprised' because during the last summer's Act 962 Review Conference there had been no issue with it. I have been in conversations with the DPSAFT officials regarding this and I have an appointment with them in early September to discuss it in greater detail.

"Our diesel technician's project was disapproved but, as I have publicly said on more than one occasion, I had no real expectations for receiving state Partnership funds for it. While it is a most worthy and needed project, it simply does not meet the stringent requirements for Partnership funding. We will have to fund it through our own efforts, a combination of revenue from the bond sale if the millage passes and from outside donors.

"The great news is that our Intermediate School project was approved. There is a real need for our parents and patrons to be aware that we stand to receive approximately 1.2 million dollars of Partnership funding for that project. The district receiving that money is contingent upon the successful passage of our 3.1 mill tax increase at this September's annual school board election.

"We must all do our part to 'spread the word.' Our voters have never failed to support progress in our school district when they knew the facts of the matter."

The estimated cost of the new classroom building at the Gentry Intermediate School campus is $7.5 million, based on a two story building with each level having roughly 24,361 square feet at approximately $150 or a little more per square foot.

Additional funding to pay for the project could also be received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the building of a safe room/commons area on the intermediate campus which would be large enough to accommodate all students and staff from the school.

In the Intermediate School plan, the six wing buildings and the main classroom area would be demolished -- leaving the multipurpose area with music and art rooms, a gym and a cafeteria -- and the new classroom facility would be built on the site of the existing main classroom area on South Second Street. The building would include 18 classrooms and a safe room/commons area. Proposed plans would make the new building two-stories high to accommodate the need for adequate classroom space on the limited-space campus. The look was also modeled to reflect the old two-story brick high school building once located on that campus. Also included in Intermediate School building projects would be a new roof on the portion of the intermediate school not included in demolition plans (the multipurpose building on the north side of the bus tunnel).

Other projects include a diesel-mechanics' lab with two truck bays and career classrooms on the high school campus (proposed along SWEPCO Rd., on the north edge of the baseball field), electrical upgrades and improvements in the high school and the new agriculture building.

Estimated cost to build the diesel lab is about $2 million, with the other three projects estimated to bring the total to approximately $12 million or more.

Cost to property owners, should the millage increase be approved by voters in September, would be approximately $62 per year for every $100,000 in real personal property.

"Getting the Partnership money is our best hope of doing all five projects, and it's not guaranteed today," Barrett said. "Amounts of money per project, if any, will not be made known to applicants until May 1, 2017. In summary, a district can have its projects approved and never receive a penny. But for us to have a chance to get Partnership funding, our voters must first pass the millage increase."

Should the district not receive state funding to assist in the building projects, the intermediate school campus would be the first priority, according to Barrett, and would be built with voter-approved bonds, with other upgrade projects put on hold until funding becomes available. Building a diesel mechanics' lab and classroom space for the new charter school's career training would also be a high priority in the overall building plans.

Should the millage increase be approved in September and the state facilities division approve and award construction money, a new school facility could be completed on the intermediate school campus by the end of 2018 or early in 2019. A diesel mechanics' lab could be built and ready to use by the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year.

General News on 08/24/2016