Bentonville Seventh-day Adventist School

The SCHOOL BEGINS

The Bentonville school was established on Highway 72 West in 1975 on a ten-acre plot of land donated by Dr. and Mrs. Bill Howard. On July 13, 1975, the groundbreaking was held for the new church school. Construction began on July 23. The Bentonville Church raised the funds and the school was built and in operation for the 1975-1976 school year. They had hoped to have enough students for one teacher but when school opened they had twenty-seven students and hired a second teacher (Kostenko, 1975; Eccles, 1975).

Those participating in the groundbreaking ceremony were, from left to right: Mrs. Georgia Medcalf, Elder Arden Clark, Lafayette Medcalf, John G. Fast, Florence Fast, Pastor A. A. Wilson, Dorothy Johnson, Don Sutton, Elder W. J. Neptune, Inez Coonfield, Waltena Neptune, W. H. Howard, Cheryl Johnson, Marguerite Howard, Billy Howard, and Jay and Heidi Howard in right front.

*Burdette Millard, teacher at Bentonville SDA School*

Property purchased in 1995 with 5.38 acres for the school

In August 1992 the school property on Highway 72 was sold and a new school was built on a five acre lot adjacent to the church on Southeast 14th Street and Moberly Lane. The new location was more central and easily accessible (Willey, 1990). School was held in the church for about three years until the new school was ready for use. An open house for the new school building was held on November 5, 1995. The new school had two classrooms, a library, an office and storage space, including lockers for the students (Boothe, 1996).

Three years later, thanks to a generous donation of $50,500 from a deceased church member, Georgia Medcalf, the Bentonville church school soon had a new addition. On Sabbath, June 27, 1998, the Medcalf family presented the money to the congregation. Plans were drawn up and construction began (Unruh, 1998). The new addition included a large gymnasium, a full kitchen, two new classrooms and several new storage rooms. This addition was dedicated on September 16, 2000. At the ceremony Georgia Medcalf was recognized with a plaque of appreciation for initiating the project with her generous donation. Others who helped make the addition a reality were also recognized (Record, 2000). By 2001 the Bentonville school enrollment averaged around sixty students from Kindergarten to ninth grade.