Invest in the future

When a couple marries, they generally move into their own home, usually an apartment or a small house.

In today's American culture, they probably have two vehicles, but both probably relatively small -- maybe a sports car and a pickup truck.

As time goes on, they discover their family is going to grow -- they're expecting a baby. So, they begin to make plans to find a larger home and a larger, more practical vehicle in which to fit a baby in a car seat.

A few more years down the road, and the family of three grows to a family of four and -- once again -- there are changes: a larger home, a crib is exchanged for a toddler bed, which is later exchanged for a twin bed.

The cute sports car that the newlyweds drove is now a sport utility vehicle or a van capable of holding car seats and strollers and all the accoutrements that seem to be necessary with a child.

A family is a microcosm of what's happening with larger entities -- school districts, cities.

Over the past 20 years, the biggest problem facing the Pea Ridge School District has been growth.

As more and more people move to town, the school population has increased -- dramatically. The facilities are stretched to the limit and school officials have creatively addressed the needs over the past decade, finding alternative solutions including using flex-mod scheduling.

The student population has grown, as can be gauged by the number of students graduating every year.

In 2004-05, there were 1,223 students. That number steadily increased with percentage increases ranging from a 1.1 percent increase to a total of 1,639 students in 2011-2012, to an 11 percent increase in 2006-2007. Last year there was a 7.5 percent increase and this year there was a 4.3 percent increase with a total of 2,073 students. Over the past 12 years, the average increase has been 4.63 percent.

The "new" high school, 18 years old, is at capacity with more than 600 students. School officials are seeking a millage increase to fund a new school. Thanks to partnership funds from the state, 60 percent ($10 million) will be funded if the district will pay the other 40 percent.

On Tuesday, May 9, voters in the Pea Ridge School District will cast their votes answering the School Board's request for additional money.

In the last decade, since the millage increase, school officials have worked diligently to be frugal. Additional taxes are not necessarily welcome, but are essential to provide for the needs of the district.

On a residence with an appraised value of $150,000, the increase in taxes, would be $12.75 per month -- $153 per year. That amount of money may be large for some and minuscule to others.

Assessed valuation of real estate in the Pea Ridge School District in 2015 was $91,807,680 compared to Gravette's assessed valuation of $280,944,075. That means one mil in Gravette is worth three times what a mil is in Pea Ridge. To put it in an easy-to-understand format, if someone earning $30,000 gives 10 percent of their income, it is not as much money as someone earning $1 million and giving 10 percent. So, even though there are many homes being built in Pea Ridge, the value is relatively low. And, Pea Ridge doesn't have as much commercial real estate as other districts in the area and commercial real estate provides more value than residential.

Complaints against the tax include people who question how well school officials are managing the current revenues. The cafeteria fund, previously said to not be able to be self-sustaining, is profitable. For years, money was transferred from the general fund to the cafeteria fund to offset the deficit. With wise management of funds and commodities, the cafeteria fund has been self-sustaining for several years now.

The enrollment for the 2016-2017 school year shows 448 students in the Primary School; 444 in the Intermediate School; 510 in the Middle School; 640 in the High School -- for a total of 2,042. State law mandates numbers of students per classroom, the number of teachers and at what population an assistant principal has to be hired.

The TIMES endorses the Pea Ridge School District and the outstanding and groundbreaking work being done by the current administration. We encourage voters to vote for the millage. It's an investment in our future that will be worth the sacrifice.