406 St. Francis St., Marked Tree, Arkansas  72365   (870) 358-2913

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Helpful Links

Artsonia – MTES Online Art Gallery

Helpful Resources

Common Core State Standards – Frequently Asked Questions and Other Helpful Information

Core Matters Newsletter – Arkansas Department of Education Publication

PARCC Assessment – Latest Standardized Testing Information

Arkansas Department of Education – Latest Initiatives and Helpful Links

Arkansas Curriculum Frameworks – State Teaching Standards

Khan Academy – Help with all Grades all Subjects

Math – Educational Activities for Parents and Students

MyON – New Online Reading Program (Individual logins will be available shortly)

Virtual Math Manipulatives – Interactive Math Manipulatives to Help with Mathematical Understanding

Home Access Center – Student Grade and Attendance Site (Individual logins go out this week)

 


Principal's Blog

Link:  markedtreehighschool.blogspot.in

Students, Parents, and Community Stakeholders,

Words cannot express how happy I am to be starting another school year!  This will mark the beginning of my 18th year in education.  Nine of those years were spent as a teacher and coach, while the last eight have been as a high school principal.  This will be my first as the superintendent of Marked Tree School District.

My alma mater. 

Words can’t express to you how much I love this school and the community.  If you had told me that I was going to grow up and spend my life working in our school, I would have known that I was going to have a blessed life.

Marked Tree was never intended to be a part of my journey.  This has always been my destination.  This is home.  This is where I wanted to be when I started my career.  As an employee of your school district, I consider myself lucky to work with your kids. Thank you for entrusting them to us.

Nothing is more important than student safety and education, which brings several pressing issues to the forefront.  These concerns need to be addressed and we need the communities help to do so. The most pressing is our school facilities.  One part of our high school was opened in 1949, almost 70 years ago.  The 3-6 wing of our elementary school and cafeteria were opened in 1959.  Needless to say, theses facilities have seen better days.  There are plumbing issues, structural issues, and problems with efficiency.  Classrooms constructed 60 years ago aren’t conducive to the educational needs of today’s learner.  More importantly, our school is in need of some enhanced security/safety needs.

The State of Arkansas agrees with us.  When the facilities division from the Department of Education came to our school, they said that we needed to do something and they would help.  They agree so much they are willing to contribute $4,314,639 to upgrade our facilities.  In an effort to address those needs, our district is asking for a 6 mill increase on Sept. 19th.  The money generated from this millage will only go to demolishing, constructing, remodeling, and furnishing school buildings.

As a school employee and a community member, a millage is an issue that I don’t take lightly.  When your district asks for a tax increase, it is something that must be done with great thought.  The sacrifice and the burden that is placed on the community gives us much pause when we try to find ways to enhance our kids’ educational opportunities and provide them with much needed safety measures.  However, we have the 32nd lowest millage in the state.  There is no way we could build these buildings if we didn’t have a millage increase.  We are also one of the lowest in Northeast Arkansas.  Here is a chart of schools in surrounding counties.




Let me be clear, there isn’t a right time for a millage increase.  Raising taxes on the citizens of your school district is a difficult thing to consider.  We try to be mindful that citizens have to sacrifice each time there is an increase. 

Rather than trying to find the “right time,” I think that we have to consider the pros and cons of when you are asking for an increase.  The fact that the state is contributing almost half of this project ($4,314,639) is a major factor in going for this millage.  In essence, the state is giving us what we are asking of our community…what I mean is that our 6 mill increase will generate about $4,200,000 and the state is giving us $4,300,000. Imagine if the state wasn’t partnering with us…we would be facing a 12 mill increase and that would be highly irresponsible. 

Another factor that creates a sense of urgency is that Governor Hutchinson stated that the current school facilities budget wasn’t feasible moving forward.  How does that impact our project?  It doesn’t, if we pass the millage.  If we don’t pass the millage and have to ask for money in the future, there will be as many or more schools competing for a smaller amount of money. 

At the elementary school, we would eliminate all outside transitions.  Kids will be in a secure building while transitioning to lunch and physical education.  The main focus at the elementary would be having a hardened area that would withstand tornadoes.  The cafeteria, which is also a community area, will be remodeled.  The entire 3-6 win will be demolished and rebuilt, except it will be connected to the gym instead of going to Normandy Street.  Below is the old floor plan.  The new is directly beneath it.

       
When finished, the new wing of the elementary school would look like the renderings below:






          At the high school, we will demolish the 1947 wing (old auditorium, 7 classrooms), the band room, and the library/principal’s office.  The superintendent’s office and the new auditorium will stay.  We will build a new band room, choir room, several new classrooms, and a physical education area.  There will also be a hardened structure, which will provide safety in adverse weather situations.  The cafeteria and the superintendent’s office will be remodeled, but will not be new structures.  The main idea at the high school, besides the tornado shelter, is to focus on access to students.  Under the new floor plan, kids will have zero outside transitions and 4 doors that can access the building, but one main entrance that will do directly into the principal’s office.  Currently, there are 14 sets of doors we have to monitor.

Here is the old floor plan followed by the proposed floor plan:




Here are two renderings of what the high school will look like:


        




         Money in these classrooms will be spent on systems that are more efficient (LED lighting, HVAC), heavy and secure doors, windows, and items intended to save money.

        While all of this looks great when you look at the floor plans, what does this mean for you as a property owner?  This chart shows what the increases will be for the appraised value of your property.








It is my hope that you see we are not asking for what we want.  There is nothing that we would love more than to build two new schools and a gymnasium.  However, that isn’t possible.  Because of our declining enrollment, we have to either decrease square footage or fund 100% of the project.  Rather, these improvements are what we need to ensure the education and safety of the next generation of students at Marked Tree.

In creation of this letter, I wanted to be able to add floor plans and pictures.  However, there were several formatting issues that might prevent you from seeing them in the letter.  The pictures of the floor plans and the school will be posted sometime Monday on the school webpage and our social media accounts.  You can also see them on the video by accessing the link below:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=gJJKQjeD61Y

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at (870) 358-2913 or you can email me at wrightm@mtree.k12.ar.us  and I will be willing to talk about your concerns. 

It is my sincere hope that you will consider voting yes on Sept. 19th.

Thank you,
Matt Wright, Superintendent
Marked Tree School District



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