Make Riordan an elementary school

Make Riordan an elementary school

The situation in Bella Vista right now is the many amenities (i.e., golf courses, lakes, dance halls, gun range, etc.) that the rather wealthy retirees demanded 50 years ago are not a priority to younger newcomers. Many of the incoming parents both have jobs and don't have time to golf, fish or dance. They are more interested in feeding their family, paying house mortgages and car payments and saving for their children's college education. Therefore, they are not willing to throw more money at projects they don't have time to use.

So, the question is, "What do we do to maintain these unused and aging amenities?"

In the case of Lake Bella Vista, where the elderly members of the Trail Blazers, with their home lawnmowers and weed whackers, could not keep up with the maintenance of the Lake, they decided to sell the lake to Bentonville for $10. We didn't lose the lake, it is still there and it is in better shape than ever.

Now the question is, "What do we do with Riordan Hall?" At the regular monthly meeting of the Bentonville School Board Monday, Nov. 12, the Bella Vista Patriots proposed the following. Let's do like the Bella Vista Lake sale and sell Riordan Hall to the Bentonville School District for $10. Then ask them to convert the building to Cooper Elementary West grades K through 4.

Currently, the Bella Vista Properties Association is considering tearing the building down and replacing it with a $14 million modern structure with money we don't have. It would be a shame to tear it down. It's not like the residents of Bella Vista would be losing Riordan Hall, it's just that the building will be converted to a better use.

It might be the only elementary school building in Arkansas with a full-sized gymnasium and outdoor swimming pool.

The Patriot plan would serve to accomplish many great things:

1. Provide a temporary solution to the student overcrowding problem in the Bentonville schools.

2. Remove some of the drive-time traffic problems.

3. Reduce bus expenses, environmental emissions and chances of accidents.

4. Reduce student's time getting to and from school (no getting on the bus at 6:15 a.m.).

5. Reduce sleep deprivation and lack of nutrition, making for better students.

6. Have young children closer to home, which is better in the event of family emergencies.

7. Cut expenses -- some of the administrative support staff could be shared with Cooper Elementary.

8. The school building could still be used as a community center for residents of Bella Vista.

9. The renovation and maintenance of the building are already paid for by school tax dollars that we have been paying for as long as there have been school taxes.

10. The new school could be called Cooper Elementary West.

11. The school mascot should be the "SPELUNKERS."

Lt. Colonel Jim Parsons (Ret.)

Bella Vista