The Fountain Lake School District Mission of “Supporting Every Student Every Day for Success” is encompassed in the district goal of providing a learning environment that will create and maintain safety and security for all and provide for future growth and expansion.
Under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Michael Murphy and the Fountain Lake Board of Education, conservative budgeting and management of resources have allowed the district to purchase two adjacent tracts of land. Expanding the district footprint to the south and west by more than twenty-five acres, clearing and developing those sites for future use has been done from district revenue fund balances.
As the Arkansas Department of Transportation continues to improve accessibility within the district, and particularly, in close proximity to the campus, the addition of a south entrance supports the goal of improved safety for all by transitioning a large amount of traffic to the outer edge of the campus, as opposed to the older driveways that cut through the center of the school buildings.
Now is the time to address present constraints and concerns and look toward enhancements to the curricular program to prepare students for the future.
The Fountain Lake School District is proposing a 5 mil increase to fund the construction of a new elementary school, a community workforce center, a sports complex, a performance arena, and expansion of the roadway system within the campus.
After completing a facilities audit during the
The construction of a self-contained elementary school on the site of the current tennis courts will separate those students from the middle and high school students. Classrooms, a cafetorium/multipurpose facility, and a secure playground will provide the district’s early learners to remain on their own campus throughout the day. Shared staff members will go to the students, as opposed to the students traveling outside to those classes.
In consultation with a variety of stakeholders, the need for expanded workforce development programs and courses on campus leads the district to propose a flexible set of classrooms/workspaces to accommodate that expansion. Relocation of the current Family Consumer Science program to a space with Culinary Arts capabilities, moving high school Integrated Production Technologies out of the middle school classroom it has been forced by space constraints to occupy, and revamping Agriculture program to allow more space for the current welding certification program are among the immediate moves that this new space would allow. Additional programs to meet the local workforce demands would also be housed within the Community Workforce Center.
By moving Family Consumer Science to the workforce center, that classroom space will be dedicated to the Special Education Department’s Community Based Instruction program. Moving those students from a portable building to a classroom already equipped for life skills development.
With the proposed construction of the new elementary school, the existing tennis courts would be relocated to the area behind the football press box. The construction of on-campus baseball and softball fields would allow the district to have actual home fields rather than the current required travel to local youth league fields for practice and home games. Additional parking and a reconfiguring of the entrance to the football field would also be completed.
With a further eye toward improving the capacity of the campus, a performance arena, a small indoor practice field, and a community fitness center would be housed under the same roof as the workforce facility. All of the district’s instrumental music programs could perform at the same time in the expanded performance arena;basketball and volleyball teams would also utilize this space. After school programs for community health would be held in this facility.
To further improve traffic flow and safety on the campus, a roadway along the southern and western border of the campus will move student drop-off and pick-up away from the center of the campus. The new road would connect Park Avenue to Cobra Drive and on through to Fox Pass Cut-off.
Each element of this proposal addresses needs that will allow the Fountain Lake School District to continue to support every student every day for success.
For More Information: www.millage.flcobras.com