Bentonville board prepares to name 12th elementary school

Bentonville School District administration building.
Bentonville School District administration building.

BENTONVILLE -- The School District soon will begin accepting name suggestions for the 12th elementary school.

The school on Haxton Road is set to open in August 2019.

Elementary No. 12

The Bentonville School District’s 12th elementary school is under construction at the corner of Haxton and Roberts roads in Rogers. The district bought the 40-acres last year from Thrilled Land Investments for $1,056,000. The total cost to build the school will be about $26.9 million.

Source: Staff report

The district's website, BentonvilleK12.org, will feature an opportunity for the public to provide feedback and name suggestions for the school starting Sept. 4, according to the timeline.

The School Board will review all suggestions, including those from board members and district administration, at its Sept. 10 meeting. The board will narrow down the list of potential names at its meeting Oct. 1, then choose a name at its next meeting on Oct. 22.

The board discussed the naming process at both of its meetings this month. The original plan was for the board and administration to present name suggestions, narrow the possibilities to three, then present those three names to the public for feedback.

Some members balked at that plan, worried the public would believe they were voting on the name and the board would go with whatever the most popular choice was. That wouldn't necessarily be the case.

Eric White, board vice president, proposed putting the public feedback request on the front end so people could suggest as many names as they want in advance of the finalists being selected.

Travis Riggs, board president, said he liked that idea, adding he doesn't want to know how many people suggest a particular name.

"I really don't care. Just give me the list of all the names," Riggs said.

The board must follow district policy on naming school facilities.

A facility may be named after a geographic location or section of the community it serves; it also may be named after a person if that person is of "exemplary moral character," has made outstanding contributions to the community, or is historically significant locally, nationally, or internationally, according to the policy.

The district shall not name any building after a living person who, in the 10 years before the building's construction, was elected or held an elected office and received a salary for his or her service, according to the policy. Exceptions may be made for a person who has historical significance, who is or has been a prisoner of war, or who is at least 75 years old and is retired.

The district also allows people to buy naming rights to a building. The board last year approved naming-rights guidelines, attaching $1 million to an elementary or middle school, $2 million to a junior high school and $5 million to a high school as the appropriate donations at each building level. The board has final say over any naming-rights contract the administration brings forward.

The district's timeline for the 12th elementary school calls for the principal to be hired in December and the assistant principal to be hired in March. The school's mascot and colors are scheduled to be chosen in February.

NW News on 08/28/2018

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