Rather than replace its outdated junior high school, the Harrison School District plans to expand its middle school and high school buildings to make room for seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade students currently housed at the junior high, the district superintendent said.
"It has reached the point where the state has agreed with us it would not make sense to invest funds into that location," said Melinda "Mendy" Moss, superintendent of the Boone County district of 2,760 students.
School district officials have budgeted $27 million for the projects and propose to raise the district's millage by 4.9 mills, from 34.3 mills to 39.2 mills. A mill is equal to one-tenth of a penny. The increase would raise the annual school property tax on a $100,000 home by $98 annually, from $686 to $784.
The proposal to raise the millage will go to voters Sept. 16, with early voting beginning Sept. 9.
Harrison Junior High consists of facilities built in the 1950s and 1960s on Pine Street, a former two-lane city street that is now a four-lane highway. Only a sidewalk separates the campus from the busy roadway, one of many concerns about the building, Moss said.
A few years ago, a truck crashed into the band room and took out a door, window and a large portion of a wall next to Pine Street, Moss said. No was hurt.
The junior high needs a new roof, estimated at $1 million, Moss said. The wiring is inadequate to support the technology teachers use in their classrooms. The campus also does not meet current standards for being accessible to people with physical disabilities, Moss said.
The entire band can't fit into the band room, so percussion students stand outside and listen through open windows to hear their fellow band members.
There's also asbestos that would have to be removed during an extensive renovation, Moss said.
In a report on the Harrison School District's buildings, the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation determined the facilities that make up Harrison Junior High have exceeded their 50-year life expectancy, said Charles Stein, division director. Facilities that have exceeded their expected life typically have undersized classrooms, outdated electrical and mechanical systems, and do not meet the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for door widths, hardware and restrooms.
While buildings can be repaired, the repair costs rise as buildings age, Stein said. The division visited Harrison Junior High School on May 30 to review all major building systems, including the roof and major electrical and mechanical systems. The division found that the building should be replaced because the cost of repair is greater than 65 percent of what it would cost to replace the facility, the division's threshold for determining whether to recommend repairs or replacement, Stein said.
Portions of the projects at the middle school and high school will be considered for funding by the Commission on Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation in the spring of 2015. Whether Harrison is awarded funding depends on the level of funding provided by the 2015 General Assembly for all building projects submitted for consideration by the commission, Stein said.
However, if the millage election does not pass, the Harrison School District would be evaluated for possible academic facilities distress, Stein said. The process likely will identify issues that the district will have to address and that could result in sanctions, Stein said.
School Board President Wordna Deere said the board decided against building a new facility, instead renovating and expanding existing buildings to accommodate the junior high students.
"Our junior high is actually too old to repair," Deere said. "Even though it may seem like a lot of money, we have the facilities in place to move into. We don't have any more land to build on. I personally was in favor of it. It's a good move for the school and a good move for the community as a whole."
The district is working to provide pamphlets explaining the proposal and the building plans to voters, she said.
If voters approve, Moss said the middle school will house not only the fifth and sixth grades, but also the seventh and eighth grades. Ninth-graders will go to the high school.
Plans developed by Hight-Jackson Associates in Rogers include renovating the middle school to provide 12 more traditional classrooms at Harrison Middle School and additional spaces for art, special education, gifted and talented students, and a computer lab, said Ron Shelby, chief executive of the firm.
The project at the high school includes adding 10 traditional classrooms, Shelby said.
The district also plans to build a new gym and fine arts center in between the campuses, Moss said.
The district has not determined an alternate use for Harrison Junior High, Moss said.
Metro on 07/10/2014