ROGERS -- Garfield community members came together Tuesday to make another plea to the School Board to keep their elementary school open -- at least for a few more years.
Jeff Perry, superintendent of the Rogers School District, said the board will decide next month on the plan for Garfield Elementary School, which opened in 1941.
The board originally was expected to decide last month on the school's fate. The district had been preparing to build its 17th elementary at North Second Street and Stratton Road and open it in time for the 2024-25 school year; district officials appeared to be leaning toward closing Garfield and shifting its roughly 105 students to the new school.
Last month, however, the board agreed with administrators that the latest cost estimate for the new school -- about $36 million -- was too high, especially in light of other capital needs. They put the 17th elementary plan on the shelf.
Still, district officials have concerns about the relatively high cost on a per-pupil basis to operate Garfield Elementary. The facility also would need extensive renovation to bring it up to current code and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
On Tuesday, Perry said the district estimates it would cost $10 million to $15 million to bring the building up to code and into ADA compliance. That amounts to $800 to $1,000 per square foot, he said -- roughly double the cost of new construction.
The district formed a Garfield Steering Committee last summer to discuss options for what to do with the school. The committee includes Perry; Charles Lee, assistant superintendent; Stephen Bowman, the school's principal; Gary Blackburn, mayor of Garfield; two parents and two teachers.
Blackburn spoke at Tuesday's board meeting. The right decision is to leave Garfield Elementary open, he said.
"That's a difficult decision. Hard decision," Blackburn said.
But he also suggested the possibility of building a new elementary in Garfield on 20 acres that were donated for that purpose. The city of Garfield would provide infrastructure needed for the project, he said.
Jenny Setzer, a Garfield parent and committee member, asked the board to delay closing Garfield. She also asked them to consider building a new school in Garfield.
"All you have to do is plan for the growth," Setzer said. "The growth will come. Houses are being constructed out there now. A lot of them, actually."
She added removing the school would kill the community.
Bowman, the principal, and Nona Rogers, a Garfield teacher, also addressed the board and presented options. Their first suggestion was to keep the school open.
Short of that, Bowman suggested delaying the decision on Garfield for four years. That would allow time to monitor growth in the district's northeast section.
It also would buy time on whether to build the new elementary on Stratton, he said. Garfield kids would move to the new elementary if it's built. So if the decision is made to close Garfield now, Garfield families potentially could see their kids moved twice in the span of just a few years, he said.
Rogers also asked no matter what the board decides, that they keep Garfield kids together and not split them up among different schools.
State Rep. Joshua Bryant, whose district includes Garfield, also spoke on the community's behalf. He pointed out the Rogers area is growing and places like Garfield could see significant growth with a new school there.
"If you put a school out there, it will fill up and people will want to go there," he said.