BENTONVILLE -- Much of the planning for the opening of West High School hinges on whether seniors will attend during its inaugural year, a School District official said Monday.
Dena Ross, executive director of human resources, said she'd like to know sooner rather than later whether the class of 2017 -- this year's sophomores -- will have a presence at the new school when it opens in August 2016.
At A Glance
Real Estate
The Bentonville School Board voted 6-0 Monday to authorize Superintendent Michael Poore to proceed on talks with landowners regarding real estate for one or more new schools. Poore said the district has sought sites on the north and south sides of the School District. He would not get into details about the potential sites, saying any public discussion likely would drive up the price of a site if there was any indication the district was interested in it. Poore must get additional board approval to make any specific offer on a piece of land.
Source: Staff Report
District officials previously had planned to poll the class of 2017 next fall to gauge their interest in attending West High School. That's not soon enough, Ross said.
"We need to have made some initial programming and staffing decisions prior to that time," Ross told the School Board at its meeting Monday.
Board members agreed the district should commence polling students as soon as administrators deem fit. Ross said she'd like to know by March if seniors will be attending West High School in 2016.
There was no discussion of how the district would go about polling the students.
The district does not yet have a minimum number of how many from the class of 2017 must show an interest in attending West High School in order to allow a senior class there when it opens, Ross said. That's a discussion that needs to take place among district and high school officials, she said.
"It's probably at least 200, but it might be as many as 300 that you need to start a senior class," said Michael Poore, superintendent.
The board voted unanimously last month for a boundary line that determines where students in grades nine through 11 will go when West High opens. Class of 2017 students might all be required to continue at Bentonville High, or they could be given a choice of schools to attend.
Ross presented the board a tentative timeline for staffing decisions at West High School. The plan includes advertising the principal's position starting next month, with the hiring decision being made in March. That person would begin the new job in July, more than a year before the school opens, according to the timeline.
That's because the job of opening a new high school is massive, Ross said. It includes creating a master schedule from scratch.
The district will hire a registrar and a bookkeeper for West High School next summer. An assistant principal, an additional registrar and a counselor will be hired in January 2016, according to the timeline.
The administration intends to make recommendations on what programs to offer at West High School next May. A staffing master plan would be presented to the board the following month.
Travis Riggs, board president, said the way those recommendations mesh with the district's budget is his primary concern.
"The timeline's nice. Do what you got to do when you got to do it," Riggs said. "But keep the budget in mind."
Construction of West High School is under way on Gamble Road in Centerton. It will have a capacity of 2,250 students.
Troy Musson of Flintco, the firm serving as construction manager on the project, made a brief presentation at Monday's meeting showing what progress has been made on the school. His presentation included pictures of the site from both the air and the ground.
"We're moving along pretty well," Musson said.
NW News on 12/02/2014