Wynne school leaders are praising the resilience of students and staff nearly one year after the devastating March 31, 2023 tornado.
Wynne High School held a media event Monday marking the anniversary of the storm.
Wynne Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Moore said he couldn’t imagine being in a better community, and thanked everyone for their support to get through the trying times.
Dr. Moore talked about the decision to send kids home early on March 31, a decision which likely saved lives at the high school. He said a decision is usually made based on when students can get home, and the bus driver can return safely, which is usually around 5 p.m.
“I was telling one of my assistants, I know it will be safer in this school than what a lot of our kids go home to in the way our school is built versus a house,” Dr. Moore recalled. “But, I’ve just got this feeling it’s not worth it. … Looking back, I’m so thankful I was able to listen and make that call. We would have had some loss, in the high school especially.”
Dr. Moore and high school principal Dusty Meek both acknowledged there have been challenges on the temporary high school campus, but everyone has made the best out of the situation.
“We took the first tree off of this site on May 27. The kids were in here three months later,” Dr. Moore said. “With that, there are going to be some challenges.”
Dr. Moore noted heating and cooling the structures has been one of the biggest hurdles.
Dr. Moore said construction on the temporary campus, which the district will use for at least two years, is about done. The district is hopeful that students can return to the damaged wing of Wynne Intermediate for the fourth nine weeks of the year.
Dr. Moore said the district is in a holding pattern with the new high school after meeting the application deadline of March 1. Approval isn’t expected until on or after Aug. 1, but Dr. Moore said the district is seeking an early start.
“Best case scenario, we can start turning dirt in June; worst case mid- to late September,” Dr. Moore said. “After that, it’s a 24-month project. Realistically, we’re probably looking at January 2027 to be able to transition the high school kids over.”
Dr. Moore said he hopes the new kindergarten wing will be ready by August 2026, and 9th graders can be shifted down opening the new campus to 10th through 12th graders.
Dr. Moore said the district is currently working with FEMA and insurance and is not expecting to have to pay any more out of pocket. However, there is about $500,000 worth of damage to underground infrastructure at the old high school site that was not known about.
Dr. Moore said the new high school would include a temporary storm shelter for at least 2,000 people, though that number could grow.
The district is also considering the purchase of the temporary site, but that is contingent on the landowner. Dr. Moore said a grant could be available to create a career development center.
“If we were to end up owning this, there’s possibly a grant available to create a career development center and bring in things like agri, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, MedPro. Tie them directly into the community and create a job force that can go to work immediately,” Dr. Moore said. “There are other things we’re exploring. We don’t have the big picture yet. The focus is on the high school right now.”
The school leaders said the district is trying to focus on the positives as the first anniversary of the tornado approaches.
“We don’t want to draw a whole bunch of attention [to the anniversary date] and give it a negative connotation,” Meek said. “(We’re talking about) bringing in those who assisted us – the area schools that helped us clean up and donated supplies, fire, police, and do a celebration for them. It’s as much about them as it was us.
“If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know that we would have gotten through the spring,” Meek added. “The encouragement, the letters, the donations… because of that generosity, we want to pay that forward.”
Dr. Moore said students in the lower grades plan to write notes to others who have experienced disasters recently.
“We want to make it as positive a thing as we can,” he said. “It’s a blessing, and out of our control [that the anniversary] falls on Easter Sunday.”
