State To Consider Woodlawn Projects

WOODLAWN - A new career education building and an expansion to the school cafeteria for the Woodlawn School District have been approved into the state's partnership funding program, but state assistance for those projects is still to be determined.Superintendent Dr. Kevin Hancock told the Woodlawn School Board during its regular monthly meeting Monday night that the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities & Transportation had notified the district that both of its proposed projects had been ac-cepted into the partnership program. However, the size approved for both projects accepted for the program was smaller than what the district had submitted. Under the partnership program, the state will pay a percentage of the cost for new projects or additions related to academics, and/or for projects to keep students "warm, safe and dry." The percentage that the state pays is based on each school district's "wealth index." For Woodlawn, the state pays for about 70 percent of the cost.Just because a project is ac-cepted into the partnership program does not guarantee it will be funded. The state allots a certain amount of money each year for the partnership program, and the money is awarded on a competitive basis from all the projects submitted from across the state. The state's deadline for announcing which projects will be funded is May 1, 2025.Woodlawn's original plan for the career education center, which includes space for the family and consumer science program, covered 9,891 square foot. The state reduced the size of that project to 6,194 square feet.In addition, Woodlawn submitted a proposed 3,453 square foot addition to the school cafeteria. The state allowed for a 1,828 square foot addition instead.In an interview after the school board meeting, Hancock pointed out that the 70 percent funding is based on the state's size and projected construction cost. He said the state currently uses a figure of about $240 p...