Bentonville School District officials discuss proposed zones at community forum

CENTERTON -- Bentonville's School District featured a community forum Wednesday at West High School to discuss potential new school zones.

Four people attended in person and 20 attended online, said Leslee Wright, communications director.

This was the second forum to discuss how school zones may be modified with the addition of the school district's 13th elementary school. The first was May 5 at Bentonville High School. Ten people attended in person and 20 attended online, Wright said.

The forums were held to get community input on the proposed zones, said Don Hoover, student services executive director.

"Rezoning is one of our least favorite things to do in the district," said Debbie Jones, superintendent.

The new elementary school will be built on 30 acres at S.W. Barron and Opal roads and will have the capacity for about 700 students, Hoover said.

The district worked to keep neighborhoods united, considered future growth and previous rezoning and strives to have the maximum number of Bella Vista students attend Cooper Elementary School when reworking the potential zones, he said.

Schools the district anticipates will be impacted by the rezoning include Centerton Gamble, Central Park-Morning Star, Evening Star, Elm Tree, Jones, Osage Creek, Jefferson and Willowbrook elementary schools, according to supporting documents.

Jones encouraged public comments and questions at the forum.

Anindya Dey said he bought his home in the Willowbrook Elementary School school zone about a year ago so his daughter could attend the school when she begins kindergarten in the fall. Approval of the currently proposed zones would mean she has to attend a different school next year, he said.

"How do we even think of settling? We have been given no options," Dey said. "School is one of the major reasons people move to one part of town from another."

Beverly Rutana has a child attending Evening Star Elementary, she said. The mother of three said her child was moved from Central Park Elementary to Evening Star during the district's last rezoning in 2019.

Rutana expressed frustration with the proposed rezoning, which she said would have her child attending Central Park once again.

Children need consistency and as little disruption as possible in their education, she said.

"Our heart is definitely with those kids," said Eric White, School Board president. "We really don't want to move any kids, but the math says we need a new building."

The district is growing at a rate of about 600 students per year, said Joe Quinn, board member. Such growth makes the building of new schools and rezoning inevitable, he said.

"The growth is everywhere," Quinn said.

About 1,100 students will be effected by the rezoning, Hoover said.

The board will vote on the new zones June 15 at its monthly meeting, Hoover said. The proposed zones will be available online June 11, he said.

The proposed school zones may not be approved at the meeting, White said, noting administrators may be asked to revise the plan further.

The new elementary school will open in the fall of the 2022-23 school year, Hoover said.