Williams Says He Will Not Ignore Facilities Needs

RISON - While new Cleveland County School District Superintendent Jerrod Williams said strengthening the district's bottom line will be his first priority, he said he has no intentions of ignoring any facility needs the district may have. After the new LEARNS education plan became state law in March, former superintendent Craig Dupuy advised the Cleveland County School Board to hold off, for now, on any facilities proposals due the uncertainty that the new state plan will have on finances. Dupuy's remarks came after voters twice rejected a proposed 5-mill tax increase to support construction of a new gym, expand the school cafeteria, and renovate the interior of Rison Elementary, among other things. The first vote in 2021 failed by more than 100 votes while the margin was narrowed to 27 in the 2022 election. Williams said in an interview last week that he intends to come up with some proposal to address the district's facilities needs, but the ultimate decision on what to do with those proposals will be up to the school board. "A facility need is still a facility need," he said. "So, bringing the board options, looking at how we can leverage funding sources in addition to local just to see what the board desires to put out to the patrons." Williams said he has already had several meetings with the district's building consultant Scotty Holderfield, the former Rison/Cleveland County School District superintendent who is now with the Southeast Arkansas Education Cooperative, and other facilities consultants to find ways to leverage funding sources. He said he is also tapping into his past experience of leading major facilities construction effort with the Sheridan School District, where he previously served as superintendent. The most costly of the projects proposed by the Cleveland County School Board was construction of a new gym. Williams said it is well documented that the expected life cycle of a schoo...