FAYETTEVILLE — With less than two months to go until a verdict in the millage vote that will decide whether the FayettevilleSchool District receives a new high school or not, the Fayetteville school board has done a poor job of convincing residents that boosting property taxes to build the most expensive high school in the state's history in the midst of a recession is a perfectly reasonable request.
Thus far taxpayers aren't buying it, which probably helps explain last week's decision by A Stronger Fayetteville, the private group pushing for yes votes this fall, to hire a professional consultant out of Little Rock, at a cost of $6,000 plus travel expenses, to help with the cause. This move comes only weeks after marshaling the assistance of two other highly respected forces: Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan and Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce President Steve Clark.
Much like school board members, city leaders realize that asking people to sign off on this particular property tax increase could lead to a lot of heated arguments, but they're asking anyway because they believe our town's high school students deserve far better than the decades-old contraption on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard that looks much worse for the wear. Disjointed and dumpy looking, FHS could use much more than a facelift. Badly.
Of course, the price of the reforms does not help the current proposal. For $113 million, the Fayetteville school board is telling the public that they will receive "a 21st-century high school" capable of housing 3,000 students. With the notable exception of the administration building on the north side of Stone Street and Harmon Field (as well as existing gyms and a baseball field), nearly everything on campus would be demolished and rebuilt. Creating an environmentally friendly, pro-technology setting would take three or four years, but the finished product (we're told) would be unlike any other high school in Arkansas. Our town's (wealthy) progressives can hardly contain their excitement.
And then there is everybody else, most of whom can hardly stop asking questions. For most observers, the immense price tag is the biggest hurdle facing the school board. Regardless of how nice a high school residents might receive, the fact remains that the total funding committed to a new FHS is more than double the cost of building the high schools in Rogers, Siloam Springs or Springdale.
Travel to those towns and you'll come across gleaming, glistening high schools that appear to be outstanding educational environments. Regardless of what PR firms and school supporters might argue in the weeks to come, some Fayetteville residents are convinced that $113 million is simply too much money to ask taxpayers to part with at this time.
Of course, the price tag is by no means the only concern.Some folks are downright angry about the board's decision to add the city's ninth-graders to the Fayetteville High School setting. Despite potentially irrational fears about placing freshman girls in the same hallways as 12th-grade boys, administrators have previously told us that the nine-12 format is the way progressivehigh schools across the country have been doing it for years. Just so, I don't think the school board fully appreciates how upsetting some residents find this development.
Still other Fayetteville residents passionately argue that two high schools, each playing host to 1,200 to 1,500 students, would be a far better investment than creating a one-size-fitsall vision.
Additional questions abound. What does a $113 million high school actually look like? Why doesn't Fayetteville wait to build such a costly high school until state/federal authorities are willing to help share the construction cost? On July 4, it was reported that Superior Industries would pay an additional $51,144.87 if the millage increase occurs, which has left some wondering if local businesses struggling to survive a rocky economy can afford the extra property taxes a yes vote would stick them with. Some wonder what impact inflation could have on the project. At this rate, who knows how many more questions and concerns will arise between now and election day.
Not surprisingly, letters appearing on this page have overwhelmingly taken a negative view of the millage request. Interestingly, we've been hearing from people who don't usually care to see their names in print - but who most certainly want to be heard on this particular subject. Confusion seems to be the key descriptive phrase. Many readers just can't grasp why this project must cost so much.
If they hope to be victorious this fall, the Fayetteville school board must make its constituents believe that building a $113 million high school is without question the best possible option, and by a wide margin. It's no accident that "an investment in the future" is the key phrase project supporters have been repeating over and over. Framing this debate around giving our children a special place to learn is their only hope of success.
Obviously a new high school needs to be built. Clearly this entire community deserves a Fayetteville High School that becomes a symbol of our community's progressive desires. So far, however, it has become just as apparent that a great many citizens firmly oppose what is being offered. At this juncture a defeat at the polls is quite easy to imagine. For this reason, it will be fascinating to see if the school board can rally and inspire their troops in the days and weeks to come.
Scott Shackelford is editorial page editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times. His column runs on Tuesdays.
Opinion, Pages 4 on 07/28/2009