Talks with Mississippi State University officials about the school’s partnership with the upcoming consolidated school district are leaning toward the possible construction of a demonstration site located on the campus’ intramural fields, Starkville School District Superintendent Lewis Holloway told school board members Tuesday.
Although the MSU plan is not yet finalized, Holloway said earlier discussions hinted at a grades 6-7 facility, thereby giving the university fundraising traction toward construction that would help cement Starkville Consolidated School District as a demonstration district.
Such a construction plan would still require fundraising efforts, the state college board’s approval and actual build time, more than likely pushing the envisioned partnership – if it comes to fruition – after state-mandated consolidation in 2015.
Holloway told the school board Tuesday that discussions earlier in the day yielded several agreements — for instance, the idea of MSU utilizing a demonstration program in a K-12 facility was nixed — but no guarantees for the university’s final proposal. When contacted after the school board meeting, David Shaw, MSU vice president for research and economic development, said he could not add clarity with the talks since he was out of town and not in attendance.
Both Holloway and Shaw are members of the seven-person Commission on Starkville Consolidated School District Structure, the group tasked by the Legislature to gain public input and submit a merger proposal to lawmakers by March 1.
A grades 6-7 site, Holloway said, would allow MSU students access to two pivotal grades in child development.
“If (MSU is) going to be involved, all of our sixth grade students need to be involved … in a MSU experience that affects all of our students. I think, from what I heard today, they support our district becoming a demonstration district, not just a demonstration school,” Holloway told the school board. “That means as early as next semester, they could start putting professors-in-residence in our schools, and we’ll work with them to provide classrooms and possibly (auditorium space) so they can teach our district’s college class to education majors and turn that into an experience inside the school.”
The ability to market itself as a key partner in a demonstration district could allow the university a more aggressive avenue for fundraising, Holloway said.
“This has got to be wider than just the (MSU) College of Education. The College of Arts and Sciences … is already involved in the schools, and it very well would be expanded in that college, as well,” he said. “They are very supportive and think this could be part of their funding drive to raise money for buildings, that possibly some major dollars could be spent toward the building of this facility.”
When SSD Board of Trustees Vice President Keith Coble asked Holloway if construction of a grades 6-7 school means Armstrong Middle School would be reconfigured as a grades 8-9 campus, the superintendent agreed.
Before Tuesday’s discussion, the merger committee had all but finalized a logistical plan that would renovate Overstreet School for middle-school use and seek local- and state-level funding for construction of a grades 8-9 campus. The long-term construction plan would shore up future capacity needs – administrators would pull ninth grade from Starkville High School as county high school students enter the system – but funding sources for the estimated $14 million project have not yet been secured.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.