RISON - Superintendent Davy King informed those attending the Cleveland County School District’s Facilities Master Plan hearing Monday evening that the district’s gym project is now the next in line to be offered state partnership funding.His announcement came during the district’s Facilities Master Plan hearing held on the eve of Tuesday’s election to decide if district patrons would support a 6-mill tax increase to fund construction of a new gym estimated to cost about $12 million.Earlier this year, the Arkansas Department of Education’s Division of Public School Facilities and Transportation announced that the Cleveland County School District (CCSD) had been approved for two partnership funding projects: $2,707,532.36 for the construction of a new gym, and $138,714.14 for a new secure entrance to Rison Elementary.Under the partnership program, the state provides a percentage of the construction costs for approved projects. That percentage is based on the district’s wealth index, which is essentially a formula the state uses to determine a school district’s ability to raise money on its own.While both projects were approved for the partnership program, neither was initially granted funding. The state sets aside a certain amount of money for each two-year partnership funding cycle. That money is then offered based on a priority list. Since some districts do not have the matching funds in place to accept it, the money is turned back in and offered to the next project on the list.King informed those attending Monday night’s hearing that the gym project is now the next project on the list while the security entrance for Rison Elementary is the next project after the gym, which means both projects could receive the funding.“I feel very confident that in not very long we will get a piece of the pie,” King said referring to the partnership funding.Both projects were included in the overall scope of t...
To access content, please login or purchase a subscription.