Fort Smith Public School District (FSPS) officials are considering consolidating more elementary schools — specifically Carnall and Spradling — in an effort to “right size” the district.
The district established a Long-Range Facility Planning Committee in fall 2023 to develop a strategic plan for the district’s facilities. The “diverse group of experts” is made up of community representatives, administrative staff, educators and consultants, according to information provided by the district.
The focus of the group was on “creating a practical and adaptable roadmap to guide the district’s infrastructure development over the next five to 15 years,” according to the district.
A major part of this plan includes rightsizing the district’s schools over the next five years. Rightsizing is defined as improving “campuses at minimal cost while maximizing their suitability for current and future needs.” According to published district information key factors for rightsizing elementary schools include a building capacity of 625 students, a target utilization rate of 80% or 500 students, and the depreciated value of the buildings.
“Rightsizing is a strategic approach to optimizing the use of our school facilities by aligning the size and capacity of our buildings with the current and projected student population,” district information states. “This process is not just about closing schools but about ensuring that our schools are efficient, effective, and equipped to provide the best possible learning environment.”
In April 2024, the committee presented a plan to the FSPS Board of Education to right size the district and close four school campuses over the next five years to improve the district’s facility use.
The plan, which was unanimously approved by the school board, called for eventually closing Belle Point, the Parker Center, the Rogers Center and the old Peabody School that is now the adult education center. Shawn Shaffer, executive director for facilities and operations, said the idea was to “renew and revitalize the district campuses.”
THE ORR SHIFT
In August 2024, the school board agreed to work toward closing Orr Elementary School at the end of the school year. Orr, located at 3509 Phoenix Ave., closed its doors at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
The building was reopened as the Orr Learning Academy, a K–12 Alternative Learning Environment (ALE) program for elementary students and middle school through high school students. Those students previously attended Belle Point Alternative Learning (high school and middle school students) and Sutton Alternative Learning Environment (elementary students) at Sutton Elementary School.
Students who previously attended Orr were rezoned to other nearby elementary schools.
By changing the function of Orr, the district was able to close the Belle Point building, which was one of the district’s facilities on the list of recommended closings provided by the Long Range Facility Planning Committee in 2024.
Darrell Stovall, chair of the long-range planning committee and engineering manager for Riverfront Exploration, told the school board in 2024 that the committee looked at facilities that were older, had fallen below 0% depreciation, and had low utilization. Belle Point, the adult education center, and the Parker and Rogers centers are all greatly below 0% depreciation, Shaffer said at the time.
CARNALL, SPRADLING SHIFT
Now the district is looking at closing Carnall and Spradling elementary schools. Carnall, located at 2524 Tulsa St., was built in 1962. The 49,073-square-foot building has 21 classrooms, five of which meet state standards. Enrollment is 151 students. Spradling, at 4949 Spradling Ave., was built in 1969. The 46,502-square-foot building has 20 classrooms, 11 of which meet state standards. Enrollment is 282 students.
The facility planning commission report presented at the May 19 school board meeting suggested the district begin studying whether to rezone students at Carnall and Spradling.
Closing those schools would allow the building to be used for other purposes and would allow the district to complete the committee’s recommendations to close the Parker, Rogers, and Peabody buildings, relocate adult education services, and relocate district administrative services, the report stated.
The district also closed Trusty Elementary School, redistricting those students to other nearby schools, at the end of the 2023-24 school year. The committee’s report noted that the district had learned from the closing of Orr and Trusty that parents and staff prefer an accelerated timeline when it comes to closing a school.
Next steps for the district for Carnall and Spradling include Southlake, Texas-based Zonda Education, the district’s consultant on enrollment projections and attendance zone planning, analyzing data to develop rezoning options for both schools, and district staff meeting with parents and staff at each school and at other schools where students may potentially be rezoned to answer questions and gather feedback.
The district may move Carnall students to Cavanaugh and Beard elementary schools and Spradling students to Sutton and Morrison elementary schools. The district has already held information meetings at Spradling, Sutton, Morrison and Carnall. Meetings are scheduled for 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 22) at Cavanaugh Elementary School and at 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 23) at Beard Elementary School.
FSPS is the fifth largest school district in the state with approximately 13,205 students. It has 119 buildings under its management, comprising slightly more than 3 million square feet. It has 17 elementary schools.