The Fayetteville School District Board of Education will not attempt to re-approach University of Arkansas officials about the possibility of selling the high school to help finance construction of a new site elsewhere.
Instead, the board will allow the district administration to develop a comprehensive plan for its facilities and curriculum, which the board will consider at a special meeting in an effort to bring the future of the school to a resolution.
"We think we can bring a lot of clarity to the situation," Assistant Superintendent Dick Johnson said at the board's monthly meeting Thursday.
It wasn't explicitly stated that the administration would recommend no longer pursuing a new site, but all inferences and implications in the discussion pointed to revamping the current 40-acre site on Stone Street.
Last week, the UA formally withdrew a $ 50-million offer to buy the school, citing in large part the delay and potential ongoing delays on the school board's part in making a decision.
"In our opinion, the focus has been narrowed significantly now," Superintendent Bobby New said.
"I'm disappointed. (Changing locations ) doesn't appear to be possible," board member Tim Hudson said.
Johnson added that the UA's decision to withdraw its offer "could be a catalyst"to finding a solution to the high school situation.
"What we want to do is have the professional discipline to look at things in the harsh view of reality," Johnson said. "We divorce ourselves from emotion, and we try to look at our students' best interests."
While the $ 50-million offer may have looked appealing, district Chief Financial Officer Lisa Morstad claimed the potential net proceeds from the sale could have been much less than that.
Morstad said the net proceeds could have potentially been as low as $ 8. 6 million under the worst-case scenario, and she arrived at the conclusion as follows • There was a $ 22-million estimate in site cost differences for building at a new site because of infrastructure improvements and other issues related to facilities that would have to be replaced.
• The lease-back cost to the UA while the new school was under construction could have been as high as $ 16. 4 million.
• $ 3 million could have been the cost for possible differences and risks involving the interest rate and bonddebt financing that would be required.
• The costs of maintenance during lease-back and undecided factors, such as how much furniture and equipment would be included with the sale were unknown.
"That's one slide with five bullets on it, but there's a lot of work there with a lot of different scenarios," Kring said of Morstad's talking points. "It's important for us to understand this wasn't just us sitting around."
Another advantage to the board's idea to add ninth grade to the campus with a renovation, Johnson added, is the "domino"effect it will have to free up space at lower level schools. This would significantly reduce the cost of adding classrooms if Fayetteville were to eventually provide pre-kindergarten at all elementary schools.
Johnson estimated the cost to add pre-K classrooms at all schools would be $ 4. 689 million, but they could all be modified to have pre-K for about $ 410, 000. Four of the nine elementary schools currently offer pre-K.
No date was set for the special meeting to hear the administration's recommendation. Board members said it would probably take place in two to three weeks.
Johnson also suggested the district needs to work hard to lobby legislators to change the funding formula so it can receive assistance for new construction projects under the Arkansas Department of Education's partnership program. Fayetteville does not currently receive assistance due to its high wealth index, a formula based on property taxes and enrollment.
If the high school and other capital improvements currently in the district's capital plan were acted on, they would cost the voters $ 126 million. Springdale would receive $ 41 million under the partnership program if it was doing the same amount of improvements, he said.
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