Charter School To Move Offices

— Administrators for Benton County School of the Arts will open offices on Halsted Circle Dec. 17.

“If we can do it earlier than that we surely will,” said Superintendent Paul Hines.

Official are waiting for a phone number to be assigned before making the move.

Hines, the charter school’s chief financial officer and an administrative assistant will be in the Halsted Circle building. The new location will ease crowding at the elementary/middle school campus and offer space for a conference/board room, Hines said.

Currently, a part-time counselor is housed in a converted closet and a part-time administrative assistant works out of the reception area of the counselor’s office, Hines said. The leased offices will have 1,529 square feet and make three offices totaling 368 square feet available at the elementary/middle school campus.

School officials were canceling library classes three or four times a year to have a place to hold teacher training. The Halsted Circle conference room will also be used for that purpose, Hines said.

The charter school’s board has been considering the move for months. The move was inevitable because of growth, said Wes Abbott, board president.

Hines was both superintendent and principal until two years ago when the board hired Julia Rice as principal over the elementary/middle school. With Rice in charge of the day-to-day operation, it makes sense to transition the superintendent out of her office area, Abbott said.

“That place is hectic,” Abbott said. “You’ve got two offices running in one small office space.”

The lease, utilities, insurance and an additional copier at the administrative offices will add an estimated $16,400 to the school’s annual budget. This year’s budget will be amended an estimated $14,251 to cover furniture, signs, door canopies, a phone system, security system and a deposit.

The January School Board meeting will be held at No. 8 Halsted Circle.

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