19 Aug 2017 Morrilton invests in safety, the future needs of schools

Story and photos
by Sonja J. Keith

The South Conway County School District is making the grade when it comes to safety with the addition of more secured entrances and safe rooms. In addition, there is a new multi-purpose arena for athletic events, graduation and community activities.

“We’re excited and our community is excited,” said District Superintendent Shawn Halbrook. “Every student and every staff member now has access to a safe room during school hours.”
Planning for the improvements began in 2014, with the district asking voters in September 2015 to approve a 3.9 millage increase to fund a $25 million project. The theme for the millage campaign was “For Our Children, Our School, Our Community & Our Future!”

“Seventy-five percent of the folks voted for it,” Halbrook said. “There’s pretty overwhelming support.”

The biggest project included in the millage program is a new 69,000-square-foot arena. With a capacity to seat more than 2,200, the multi-purpose arena will be used for volleyball and basketball games and large gatherings, like concerts and graduation. There will be four scoreboards, one on each corner, with two large video boards. School officials hope that it will also be the site of tournaments.

School officials visited 12 gyms across the state to gather ideas for the arena, including schools in Siloam Springs, Alma, El Dorado, Lake Hamilton, Conway, Cabot and Russellville.

“We want to make it a great experience for graduation, concerts and athletic events,” Halbrook said, adding that a lot of thought was put into the design for the arena, which is intended to meet the needs of the district for the next 50 to 60 years. “It’s for the district and the community.”

The arena also includes a weight room, locker rooms with private showers, athletic offices and a spirit store where individuals can purchase Devil Dog items. It will be operated by students as part of an entrepreneurship class. For the first time, the cheer and dance teams will also have a dedicated practice room with a locker room.

“We’re trying to give our kids as good as we can,” Halbrook said.

Halbrook also noted that there are special accommodations for the disabled, who he describes as loyal Devil Dog supporters, with first floor access to restrooms and an elevator.

The arena is projected for completion the end of December.

According to Halbrook, the project includes a well-lit and well-defined sidewalk from the parking area to the football field. “We want people to feel safe in Morrilton because it is safe.”

The arena also features a 4,000-square-foot safe room that doubles as a practice gym. Situated between the high school and junior high campuses, it can accommodate 1,400, all junior high and high school students as well as faculty and staff. “We were trying to keep the arena and safe room together,” Halbrook said. “Its purpose is to save lives.”

All of the safe rooms are available to the community should a tornado strike during non-school hours.

Halbrook points out that the SCCSD’s mission statement is ‘To Love, To Serve, To Care’ to maximize the safety, learning and achievement of every scholar, every day. “I take that seriously, every day,” he said. “Love, serve and care – that’s why we come here every day.”

Halbrook said there have been no serious safety issues at any of the schools in the district but he is not leaving that to chance. “I’d rather be proactive,” he said.

Many of the schools have new paint, flooring and LED lighting. “I’m big into lighting,” the superintendent said, adding that it brightens up a school and helps make it feel safer.

“Eventually, we’ll go to LED lighting everywhere.”

Among the improvements:

Junior high – A new, more secured entrance, making it easier for visitors to understand where the school office is located.

Intermediate school – A new, more secured entrance, with additional parking.

Elementary school – New parking and lighting as well as a technology center. The school’s physical education space was moved to the safe room, with the old PE room re-purposed into a technology center with three computer labs. The safe room, which can accommodate 500, has already been used several times. “We don’t ever want to have to use them, but they are there,” Halbrook said “We’re here to save lives and serve people.”

Primary school – Improvements totaling $6 million have been made, including destruction of the areas built in 1957, a new parking lot and a new traffic configuration for pickup and dropoff. The project featured 20,000 square feet of new construction and included an enclosed hallway for greater safety and to eliminate exposure to the elements. There are also additional classrooms and a new climate-controlled cafetorium with a stage for meetings and school programs. “The most important to me is the primary school project and the safe rooms,” Halbrook said, adding that the school has the district’s youngest students. “The arena is a cherry on the top.”

Halbrook, who is in his fourth year as superintendent, said he was aware of the need to address safety early on. “God started laying it on my heart then,” he said. “The next day, I started talking to the school board president. I prayed about it and I know our school board and community prayed about it. They are true servants and care deeply for the students. We couldn’t have passed it without our staff.”

Nabholz Construction drew high praise from the superintendent for the work on all of the improvements throughout the district. To illustrate their dedication to the job, Halbrook shared that at the primary school, students were ushered into the safe room during a tornado warning, even though the space was not completed. As the students were ushered into the room, workers quickly attached the door to ensure their safety.

“Nabholz has been awesome and I can’t say enough good things,” Halbrook said.

It is his hope that the South Conway County School District will be one that other districts want to emulate. “We want to be a school district that other school districts want to be like.”

The superintendent cited the parable of the shepherd and the sheep in explaining the role of the district in serving its students. “The shepherd exists because of the sheep,” he said. “I have a job and the district exists to serve the sheep, who are our students.”

Halbrook is appreciative of the support that the school system has received from the community that made the improvements possible. “Morrilton is investing in its future. I want the community to feel good about the investment they are making in their students,” he said. “I’m proud to be from here, live here and raise my family here.”