ALMA, Arkansas — The Alma School District started school today as over 3,000 students returned to the classroom.
The school district has had a busy summer— from donations to construction plans, and talk of the future.
Alma alum Shannon Skokos and her husband recently donated $1 million dollars to scholarships that will help students for years to come. To show appreciation, the school named its performing arts center after the Skokos.
Superintendent Bryan Duffie said there are a number of construction projects happening across the district.
While the agriculture program was added a few years ago, construction is underway for a barn, shop and classroom.
A new student activity center is also under construction and should be complete within the next year.
The district is also planning to add preschool in the next few years.
Duffie said he’s excited to be here and has many plans for his first year.
"We want to look at our programs. What are popular programs? How can we strengthen those? What are other programs that we can bring in that would be beneficial to students?"
"Whatever the next level is for Alma, that’s what we’re going find out over the next few years and that’s where we want to go," Duffie said.
Other River Valley schools like Fort Smith and Van Buren will start next week.
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