FARMINGTON -- Farmington School Board recently approved a master plan that includes proposed renovations for Ledbetter Intermediate School.

Schools must submit a master facility plan every two years to the Arkansas Department of Education. Superintendent Bryan Law noted the plan is not concrete. The district may shuffle projects based on need. According to Law, the action is tied to securing state funding for improvements to facilities.

Last week, Law said administrators are still discussing what changes they want to make at Ledbetter. Ideas include expanding the building for a new cafeteria that is similar to those at the elementary schools, turning the current cafeteria into a new media center/library and remodeling the present library into classrooms and some office space.

As part of the facilities plan, Farmington will apply for state partnership money to help with the Ledbetter renovations. A very "rough estimate," Law said, is that the project will cost about $2 million and the state would pay 50 percent of the costs.

"It's just a chance to make sure we have expansion plans in place for the cafeteria and library," Law told board members. "To get funded, we have to have spaces for the areas we fund."

The state facilities plan was due Feb. 1 and the school must submit its concept plans for Ledbetter by March 1.

High School, Phase II

Law informed the board that after recent testing, floors at the new high school seem to be finished to the district's satisfaction. Crews from the subcontractor came in over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays to work on the new floors. Farmington has held back the last payment on this work until the floors met specifications.

Tests involve taking a light meter, which Law describes as a multi-thousand-dollar device, laying it on the floor and getting a digital reading.

"It has to read a certain number," Law said. "The classrooms all passed, except one and one hallway has not been tested. I do believe it will pass."

The city requires the district to have a landscaping plan and Law explained to get a building permit for Phase III the district has to be working on landscaping for Phase II.

The School Board accepted a low bid of $31,000 from Sharum Garden Center NWA for Phase II landscaping. Two other bids came in at more than $34,000.

"Sharum has worked with us before," Law said. "They have been wonderful on their warranty. They have replaced trees for us many times."

Salaries, Calendar

The board approved a salary schedule for school year 2018-2019, so that contracts can be issued later this spring. The schedule is the same as 2017-18.

Next on the agenda was approval of the calendar for school year 2018-2019. Three separate calendar options were submitted to certified and classified employees, who voted for the one they preferred. Assistant Superintendent Terri Strope said 70 percent of the staff voted for option one, which means school will start Aug. 14 and end May 23, 2019.

Leasing Facilities

Assistant Superintendent Stephanie Pinkerton discussed a proposal from a new church wanting to launch in Farmington. The church, which she did not identify, has approached the district with a request to lease school facilities with an arrangement she said is similar to one the district had with Brand New Church in the past. The proposed lease is on Sundays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pinkerton said the church has its own janitorial staff and the idea is to leave the facilities the way they found them each week. No action was taken.

Lynn Kutter with the Enterprise-Leader contributed to this report.