GENTRY — Voters who reside within the Gentry School District will have opportunity to cast their ballots for or against a proposed millage increase to build a new intermediate school classroom facility, a diesel mechanics' lab and make other school improvements on Tuesday, Sept. 20, and early voting is already underway.
Due to the age of the existing classroom buildings at the intermediate school campus on S. Second Street in Gentry and the ongoing problems the school had with a leaky roof, a new classroom facility there is regarded as a high priority for the school district in order to provide a safe and modern learning environment for students in the third through fifth grades.
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).
The estimated cost of the building project 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.
Approval for the proposed Gentry Intermediate School classroom Partnership project was given the Gentry School District by the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation. Though there is no guarantee the district will receive assistance from the state, 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 the proposed 3.1 mill tax increase in the school election next Tuesday.
Additional funding to pay for the building project could also be received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the building of a safe room-commons area on the intermediate school campus which would be large enough to accommodate all students and staff from the school.
In an email to school board members last month, Randy Barrett, district superintendent, wrote: "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."
Barrett also pointed out to the board that the reason the district would be able to build a new classroom facility with such a small millage increase is the fact that an existing bond will be paid off in 2017, freeing up more than $400 thousand each year for repayment of the new bond.
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 next week, would be approximately $62 per year for every $100,000 in real personal property.
Should the millage increase be approved 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.
Should the district not receive state funding to assist in the building projects, the intermediate school classrooms 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, according to Barrett.
The only polling place open within the Gentry School District next Tuesday will be at the First Baptist Church, 221 W. Main Street in Gentry. Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Early voting is also available through next Monday at County Clerk's offices in Bentonville, Rogers and Siloam Springs. Hours for early voting are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
General News on 09/14/2016