BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The Bentonville City Council voted against a rezoning ordinance and land use resolution, both 6-0, that would have propelled the school district's affordable teacher housing plan on Feb. 13.
"We're disappointed by the city council's vote and maintain this project is good for teachers in Bentonville," Bentonville School Superintendent Dr. Debbie Jones said. "We intend to take some time to reassess how we can best help educators live in the community they serve."
Bentonville school leaders began discussing possible workforce housing for teachers in July 2023. To accomplish this, the school district planned to donate several acres to the Excellerate Foundation where some of the land would be designated for Bentonville Public School teachers.
In September, Attorney General Tim Griffin deemed the donation legal and the school board was able to move forward with a timeline of the development.
At a November meeting, the Bentonville School Board approved the land donation, 5-1, to Excellerate.
"That's five usable acres behind the Bentonville High School on J Street to the Excellerate Foundation so that they can explore developing a 100-unit, attainable housing project. 60 of those units would be traditional income tax-supported units," Bentonville School Board President Kelly Carlson said in November.
Out of the 60 units, 40 units would be single-family homes used specifically for teachers working for the school district to live in for five years. After the five years, Excellerate CEO Jeff Webster said the teachers should have around $50,000 to use on their next home.
At the February city council meeting, Jones said the project would be a tactic to retain "the very best" staff for Bentonville's district.
"This is simply a solution to address one problem for our staff as they have many options to continue to work outside of our district," Jones said.
November report:
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