Future construction projects outlined for school board

Photo by Randy Moll Construction work at the Gentry Intermediate School was ongoing on Friday. Walls on the new classroom facility are partially up and work is on schedule.
Photo by Randy Moll Construction work at the Gentry Intermediate School was ongoing on Friday. Walls on the new classroom facility are partially up and work is on schedule.

— In a special meeting on Monday, Nov. 13, Gentry School Board adopted a master plan for facilities over the next 10 years and heard the results of a review of current facilities in regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In the master plan presented by Jason Barrett, the school district's transportation and facilities supervisor, current and past construction projects were reported, including the recently completed career and technical training center and the under-construction intermediate school classroom facility.

The 10-year plan includes the construction of a physical education facility at the Gentry Primary School which would double as a safe room in the event of a tornado. Moving forward with the physical education facility is dependent upon the availability of funding from state and federal sources, especially the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and FEMA has not released any funding for such projects in the current biennium, which places the project on hold at the present time.

Also included in plans for the next 10 years are the replacement of the HVAC system at the high school, building restrooms at the baseball and softball fields, repair and resurfacing of the athletic track, replacement of the HVAC system at the intermediate school multipurpose building, new lighting and sound-system upgrades in the high school auditorium, replacement of the HVAC system at the high school/middle school cafeteria, a classroom addition to the middle school, a new administration and special education building and additional career education space.

Among projects to which the board has already committed are the new two-story classroom facility at the Gentry Intermediate School Campus and a new roof on the multipurpose building on the same campus.

Barrett reported that Flintco, the construction manager for the project, was able to include the cost of the new roof in the already-approved guaranteed maximum price for the classroom project.

Barrett also reported that construction at the new facility is on schedule and slabs are poured and walls are going up.

System renovation in the agriculture building and upgrades to the high school's electrical system are on hold until the school district learns if it will receive any assistance funding from the Arkansas Division of Public Schools Academic Facilities and Transportation. That will not be known until May 2018, Barrett said.

No new millage increases were included in the plan.

Barrett also reported that the state fire marshal inspected all of the Gentry School District's facilities and found the district's facilities fully compliant with ADA requirements. Barrett added that some suggestions were made for improvements to accessibility and that the district now has a five-year plan in place to begin making those and other improvements, including online mapping of handicap parking and access points, signage, doorbells and eventually automatic door openers to designated access points on each campus.

In the regular meeting, the board approved financial reports, ethics notifications from board members and staff, approved a new career and technical education manual and approved the hiring of Shawn Cook as a paraprofessional at the middle school.

Reported to the board was the requirement that high school seniors take and pass a 100-question civics assessment used for those applying for citizenship before they graduate. Shorter sample tests are available online at https://my.uscis.gov/prep/test/civics.

General News on 11/22/2017