School officials are moving forward preparing for this school year which begins for students on Aug. 14, but also in preparing for the students in years to come.
The board recently presented a request for a millage increase to build a new high school and auditorium on 77 acres on Hayden Road. Voters defeated the request, leaving school officials questioning what to do to meet students' needs.
At the regular School Board meeting Monday, July 17, the board approved the purchase of 15 acres of land adjacent to the current campuses on the southwest corner of Weston Street and West Pickens Road behind Standing Oaks subdivision. The baseball and softball fields are to be built on that property which will also provide access for a driveway out of the Primary School property onto Hazelton Road alleviating some of the traffic congestion on Weston Street.
"It's not about football, baseball and basketball, it's about educating the students," Jeff Neil, board member, said, after making the motion to purchase the two pieces of property to build new ball fields and reroute traffic from the Primary School to Hazelton Road.
"You eat an elephant one bite at a time," Ryan Heckman, board member, said referring to the huge questions the board is facing concerning student growth and crowded facilities. "It makes a lot of sense that we're purchasing that land... it seems like a no brainer for the first step."
School superintendent Rick Neal said plans are to trade the existing ball field land for a portion of land off Hazelton that RLP Developers plan to purchase. The board could then construct a new school there.
"We could sell off the 77 acres on Hayden," Neal said, "which would help with the funding."
"Obviously Hazelton would have to be paved," Jeff Neil said. "There's a traffic issue the city will have to address -- the intersection with Hazelton and It'll Do will certainly have to be addressed."
"Traffic issues will always be a discussion," John Dye, board member, said. "We'll fight that fight no matter what we do."
Neal told board members there is a possibility of the new building housing sixth- and seventh-grade students, an auxiliary gym and cafeteria. He said it should be able to provide space for 450 students.
"Further down the road, what happens next?" Dye queried.
Neal said the Middle School could be expanded on the current property and house eighth- and ninth-grade students and the high school could house 10th through 12th-grades.
Board members authorized Neal to continue negotiations with RLP to trade the ball field land for labor on the new ball complex and 20 acres off Hazelton Road.
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Editor's note: This is the second in a series of articles on the growth in Pea Ridge School and possible solutions to overcrowding.
General News on 07/26/2017