The Bentonville City Council rejected a school district’s request to rezone land with the intent to use it for teacher housing, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Al Gaspeny reported Thursday.
The request on behalf of the Bentonville School District was nixed in a 4-3 vote with one abstention at the Tuesday meeting.
Two city council members who voted against the measure – Cindy Acree, Ward 2, Position 1, and Beckie Seba, Ward 1, Position 1 – said more public input is needed.
Seba said she’s heard a lot of negative comments about the development and few positive ones.
The push for the $25 million project began in 2021 after the Bentonville School District said teachers resigned before the start of the academic year because they couldn’t find an affordable place to live. The median home price this year in Bentonville is $575,000, according to Realtor.com.
That led the school district to develop a plan to construct affordable housing in partnership with a local nonprofit, the Excellerate Foundation. The district would donate 7.79 acres to the foundation, which would manage the project.
The housing would include 40 two-bedroom apartments and another 60 apartments that will be available to qualifying community members, including district staff. The two-bedroom cottages will be deed restricted for school district employees only.
Bentonville Schools Superintendent Debbie Jones told Gaspeny after the meeting that the district will reassess and determine what to do next.
