SPRINGDALE — Driving from her Springdale home to NorthWest Arkansas Community College’s main campus in Bentonville takes Amanda Wheeler about 20 minutes.
That’s if traffic on Interstate 540 isn’t bad.
Wheeler, a 36-year-old mother of three who’s working toward her associate’s degree in teaching, would love to attend classes closer to home.
At A Glance
Satellite Locations
NorthWest Arkansas Community College began offering classes in Washington County in 2004. As of fall 2011, the college’s three Washington County locations — two in Springdale and one in Farmington — served 1,597 students, accounting for 18.7 percent of enrollment. The largest branch is the Washington County Center, just east of Interstate 540 on White Road in Springdale. The college leases space there on a year-to-year basis and is paying $141,050 annually for 11,284 square feet.
Source: Staff Report
“One central location would be amazing,” she said.
Wheeler spoke Wednesday at a special event intended to highlight the college’s commitment to building its first permanent facility in Washington County.
The event, called a Washington County Community Celebration, took place in the parking lot at Arvest Ballpark. Just west of the ballpark is an empty pasture where the college hopes to build its facility. Becky Paneitz, college president, called the event a “major milestone.”
The college’s foundation is close to a purchase agreement for that land with owner Philip Taldo, said Dennis Smiley, chairman of the foundation’s board.
“We will do everything we can to make this site a reality,” Smiley said at Wednesday’s event. “It is a process, but I am confident we will be successful.”
About 40 percent of the college’s 8,300 students live in Washington County. The college offers some classes at three leased spaces in the county, including two in Springdale, but officials have worked for years toward establishing a permanent facility there.
Taldo, when reached by phone Wednesday, said negotiation is complete. The foundation board must approve the agreement.
“I think it’s moving right along,” Taldo said. “Negotiations picked up the last three months. We went further the last three months than we went the previous three years.”
Once the purchase agreement is reached, the foundation will lead fundraising efforts in order to buy the land and build the facility, Smiley said. Once the building is complete, the foundation would turn it over to the college.
Meanwhile, the college intends to begin holding meetings later this year with community and business leaders to gather input on what the Washington County facility should offer. Those meetings will help determine the building’s size.
Jim Rollins, superintendent of the Springdale School District, was among the speakers at Wednesday’s event. He praised the college for being an excellent partner with the district.
“It’s been a beautiful relationship,” Rollins said.
The Springdale district’s two high schools had a combined 1,150 students graduate this month, about 20 percent of whom will attend NorthWest Arkansas Community College, he said.
Doug Sprouse, Springdale mayor, also expressed excitement about the college’s plans for a Washington County facility.
“The city will do whatever it can to support this effort,” Sprouse said.
Wheeler, who intends to graduate next spring, said she has taken classes at the college’s Springdale centers when possible, but all four of the classes she had this past semester were in Bentonville.
If she could attend classes full-time in Springdale, she wouldn’t have to worry so much about interstate traffic or the money she was spending on gasoline to get to class, she said.
“I can’t wait to see the plans for this building,” she said. “Maybe I’ll come back for a second or third associate’s degree just to take classes there.”