School  Plan

BELLA VISTA SCHOOL DISTRICT

(Proposal)

The residents of Bella Vista have been paying school taxes since 1874 and we don't have one thing to show for it. We have been sending our money to the Bentonville and Gravette School Districts. Most of our children get on a school bus at approximately 6:15 in the morning and don't get back home until after 4:00 p.m. Perhaps their twelve-year diploma should reflect the number of hours and the thousands of miles they have spent riding a school bus. The students are losing a lot of what could be educational time just sitting on a bus instead of being in a classroom with a teacher. Also, the money that is being spent on the bus ride could be applied to brick and mortar for some new school buildings not to mention the effect on global warming.

We realize the need to decrease the number of school districts and we agree with that concept, but Bella Vista is a unique situation. From 1965 until 2006 Bella Vista was supposed to be a retirement community developed by Cooper Communities, Inc. In 2006 we became a city and the demographics have changed to a younger population. To prevent any new districts from forming, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) set a requirement of at least 2,500 students to qualify for application of forming a new district. Bella Vista meets that requirement and the numbers are growing almost every day. We are also required to get 1,180 petitions signed asking for a new school district. We are currently collecting those signed petitions.

Lt. Colonel, Jim Parsons (RET)

Chairman Bella Vista Patriots