FAYETTEVILLE — Is it possible the Fayetteville School District will ask district voters for a millage increase to build a newFayetteville High School in 2010? I'd say yes. It may even be probable.
Why? Because despite the thumpingthe school district's proposed 4.9-mill increase received at the polls, Fayetteville board President Susan Heil (and others) remains certain that our 57-year-old FHS deserves to be replaced by a more up-to-date model. Not surprisingly, retaining the project's scope while reducing its cost is the district's newest goal. But how can that mission be accomplished in light of the anti-tax climate that's likely to stay around for a good while longer?
If nothing else, the Sept. 15 failure at the polls makes two things apparent:
◊First, district leaders should reconsider their decision to add ninth grade to FHS. Yes, backing off this key point (which has been described as non-negotiable in the past) wouldn't fit the overhauled academic model the school district has so carefully pieced together. Still, reserving FHS for grades 10-12 would not only satisfy some voters wary of doing otherwise, it could also bring down the project's price tag (previously estimated at $115 million) by several million dollars. That's a big deal.
◊Second, school board members have to pick up the phone and ask Chancellor David Gearhart whether the University of Arkansas would still consider naming its price for the current high school campus. After all, the school board's failure to act on the UA's $50 million offer for the adjacent 40-acre campus last summer is another reason so many voters rejected the school district's mostly impressive proposal.
Gearhart might laugh and hang up - especially since renovating the university campus, rather than expansion, has since become one of the chancellor's top priorities. Even so, UA officials were quoted last spring as saying the opportunity to pick up such a large piece of property in the city's downtown would never come along again, and that remains true.
The school district owes it to voters to at least ask.
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It's that Bikes, Blues & BBQ time of year again. By the end of the week tens of thousands of bikers will be tossing back cold ones and inspecting the revved-up hardware of their leather-clad brethren spending time (and dollars) throughout Northwest Arkansas. Suffice to say, this is wonderful news for Dickson Street bars, restaurants throughout Fayetteville and suffering sales tax revenue streams throughout the region in general.
We could certainly use the help. Fayetteville suffered through a 6.6 percent drop in sales tax in June, notching seven straight months of decline - and this qualified among tops in the region. Naturally this is bad news for people who enjoy city services. For example, in Fayetteville 60 percent of core services are fundedby sales tax collections. They also help fund capital projects and support bond issues. Fewer collections means fewer projects, and if things get bad enough, fewer jobs.
It's worth keeping such subtle realities in mind during the days to come.Yes, the complaints voiced by some merchants are not without merit, but they pale in comparison to the economic boost many businesses are about to experience. Put another way: Fayetteville might prefer hosting more Razorback football games to a bike festival - but with the economy struggling in communities across the country, residents here have very little room to complain, especially since this major economicstimulus package of a festival is an event every other city on the map would kill to host.
Count your blessings, Fayetteville. We're fortunate that so many colorful bikers are willing to help City Hall avoid any more cutbacks in local services.
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It's a shame the Lovely Mural - which paints a picture of important scenes and characters from the pages of Fayetteville's history - will likely be torn down to make way for a new-and-improved parking deck on the east side of the Washington County Courthouse.
But it's not a tragedy. Public art is not born with the intention of lasting forever. Even the best examples are rightly seen as adding a passing dash of color to otherwise dreary corners of our world, nothing more. Whether they survive very long is to miss the point. Rather, if such artwork is able to send imaginations shooting into unforeseen directions, and despite the reality that people are still staring at the side of some dreary bridge or parking deck, then mission accomplished.
With this in mind, it would be fitting if the Lovely Mural's demise gave way to the appearance of more public art in our community, especially since Fayetteville is already home to many right-brain types who would jump at the chance to help make something out of nothing.
One great option might be the long series of bland retaining walls that dot College Avenue south of North Street. Wouldn't it be great to see city leaders promote a campaign to dress up a few of these boring objects by simply painting them? Local artists would have the opportunity to invest their time and talents by drawing wondrous designs while shining a light on the creative spark that helps make Fayetteville such a fun place to live.
Is making art out of retaining walls a laughable idea? Maybe. Then again, chances are folks laughed the first time they heard Michelangelo was preparing to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Scott Shackelford is editorial page editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times. His column runs on Tuesdays.
Opinion, Pages 4 on 09/22/2009