During a meeting this week, the Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Commission voted on several items that will help two area schools with building projects. Yellville-Summit and Izard County both have projects that received additional money for.
The commission first of all increased the square foot cost of construction for planning purposes from $202.69 to $289.71, a 42.9% increase due to rising costs of materials and labor.
The commission also approved state Academic Facilities Partnership Program aid for 11 schools in the state, including the two in our area.
At Yellville-Summit, they are adding new classrooms at the high school due to continued growth. Superintendent Wes Henderson says the district has gone from 690 students eight years ago to 949, an increase of 37.5%. He says the district is “simply out of classroom space, and they are blessed to receive the state funding.”
The addition at the high school will include a new media center and either four or six classrooms. Henderson says the district will receive funds for 11,816 square feet with an estimated total of just over $2 million.
Henderson says survey teams have already started and they will start once the architect team and construction company are ready.
Izard County is another area school that has seen tremendous growth and needs new classroom space. Superintendent Fred Walker says the district has seen a 34.6% increase in enrollment in the last five years, going from 453 students to 610, and they have had their largest kindergarten registration in school history. He credits the increase to multiple factors including the addition of the STEM programs, offering free meals to students and the large number of extracurricular activities.
Izard County is planning on adding four classrooms at both the high school campus in Brockwell and the elementary campus in Violet Hill. Both projects are 10,000 square feet, so Walker expects the district to receive over $2 million in state funds.
The projects at Izard County are expected to be completed in the next three years.
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