Simple solutions to an old problem

Camden Metheny


A few weeks ago, Superintendent Gaylon Taylor held a meeting with the communities of Monette and Leachville proposing future buildings for BIC such as a K-12 school halfway between the two towns.

Taylor made multiple points as to why we’d need a new school. First off, the ones we have now are old as dirt. One of the most recent buildings was the Mustang Athletic Complex at the high school, which was built back in 2005. The East Elementary was built in 1952, West in 1962, junior high in 1979, and senior high in 1984. Nothing has been built for educational purposes since the consolidation of the two schools except for the music building at the high school in Monette.

He also stated that the junior high, senior high, and both elementaries are essentially their own entities.

There’s a solution to this: Just build one new school. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a K-12, but it could be a K-8 and 9-12 building. That would make communication much easier. It would also make the curriculum more uniform. Being one school district, we should be more consistent but it’s difficult to do since there’s multiple campuses.

Technology was another issue. We are far behind most schools, possibly by about 10 years. Our computers are just now getting Windows 7. We also recently got Chromebooks, which are laptops that run on a Google operating system.

One way Taylor had mentioned to get more students in the area was by developing more land for residential housing. Look at Lake City for example. They built a brand new school about two years ago, and houses and apartments are being built all over the city, which brings more people into the area. I think that there’s only been maybe three or four houses built and some new apartments in the past two years here in Monette.

Taylor had said to think of the school as a city. What happens if you don’t take care of it? People leave. Who’d want to stay somewhere that’s infested with roaches, is moldy, and just not clean?

An example he had mentioned was how downtown Jonesboro used to be a shopping mecca back in the day, but was left to fall apart. The same should be done for our 50-year-old school. Yes, it is functional and is a place to learn, but I don’t want later generations to be in the same buildings.

Honestly, a new school would be a good idea. It requires work, but it still is much needed. Even if it isn’t in the next few years, it still should be soon. If I were a parent, I’d want my child to go to a school with a newer building.