State Seeks Facilities Plan From CCSD

RISON - The Cleveland County School District will have to submit a plan to the state outlining how it will address some facilities needs after the district met with the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Commission last week. Superintendent Craig Dupuy, along with School Board President Harrell Wilson and Southeast Arkansas Education Cooperative Facilities Delegate Scotty Holderfield, met with the commission last Wednesday, Sept. 14, to discuss the district’s facilities Master Plan. Arkansas Code 6-21-811 requires a conference to be held with representatives of a school district whenever a millage request to fund projects included in the district’s Master Plan fail to pass. In this particular instance, Dupuy said the defeat of a 5-mill increase proposed to voters in a special election last month is what prompted the conference with the state facilities commission. Dupuy noted that the conference should have been held after voters rejected a previous 5-mill request in 2021, but he said COVID restrictions prevented that meeting from happening. Dupuy said there are no sanctions pending against the school district as a result of the meeting. However, he did note that the district is scheduled to receive an official notice from the state within the next two weeks notifying the district that it has 60 days to turn in a plan as to how the district will address its facilities needs. Dupuy said he plans to discuss that matter with the school board as soon as possible. Dupuy and Wilson both received a certified letter from the state facilities commission on Aug. 18 notifying them of the conference. The letter stated that, by Arkansas Code 6-21-811, a conference is required after a school district “failed to pass a millage required to fulfill its obligation under the school district’s facilities Master Plan.” Public school districts in Arkansas are required to submit a facilities Master Plan every other year during the even numbered…