Board likely to decide fate of Jefferson building this week
BY BRETT BENNETT Northwest Arkansas Times, July 26, 2006
The fate of the former Jefferson Elementary School building should be decided by the Fayetteville School Board at its monthly meeting Thursday.
The meeting starts at 5 p.m. in the Adams Leadership Center, 1000 W. Stone St.
The board is scheduled to discuss and possibly take action on one of two proposals submitted for using the building. The school closed following the 2005-06 school year.
A group calling itself the Jefferson Working Group and headed by Ralph Nesson has proposed developing the building, located at the corner of College Avenue and Sixth Street, into “The Jefferson Center.” The plan is for the center to provide operating space for a variety of nonprofit and community-minded groups that would provide services to the community.
In an earlier report to the board, Nesson listed 15 area residents who had reportedly offered financial pledges to finance the planning phase of the proposal. He also identified seven organizations that had expressed an interest in renting space within the building if the plan is approved.
Among the groups that had expressed an interest was Community Access Television. CAT manager Sky Blaylock said the building has some space, such as the gymnasium, that would be good for a television studio.
The public access channel would be a good fit in the building because of its location in one of the city’s lowerincome neighborhoods, and it would be easier for residents to find out about CAT’s services, she said.
The second group, the Jefferson Arts Center Work Group, has proposed developing the building into a community arts center. Group spokesman Doug Walsh said there are three local performing arts groups — Arts Live Theatre, Dance Coalition and Ceramic Cow — are prepared to move into the building if the idea is approved.
They also envision program space for visual arts and artist studios, he said. “This is a great property for this kind of operation,” Walsh said. Walsh said the group isn’t pursuing fund-raising for the project until the school board gives the idea its approval, but he is confident there is much public support for such a facility. “I’m anxious to see what they decide,” he said.
The school board heard presentations from the two groups at its June meeting and asked them to return with a more detailed business plan.
There are one of three things the board is likely to do at the meeting: Accept one of the two proposals, table them for further consideration or reject the ideas as unfeasible.
If the board votes to accept one of the ideas, it will direct the administration to begin negotiating a detailed contract with the group on using the facility. Another key item on the agenda is a report on “high school selection process.”
Earlier this year, board members began discussing the future of Fayetteville High School, saying a new facility is needed due to limited space and a growing population at the current site.
A key decision will be whether a new high school would be a second, additional facility, or a “replacement” for the current campus.