The Pea Ridge School District will try again in February for a millage increase after voters rejected a tax proposal earlier this month, school superintendent Rick Neal said.
"We highlighted some things we're going to work on, and we're determined to go ahead again in February," Neal told the School Board in a meeting Monday, May 15.
Voters rejected the district's request for a 5.1-mill increase 494 (54 percent) to 421 (46 percent) on May 9.
An exact date hasn't been set for the 2018 election. Arkansas school districts are limited to one millage request per year.
The district needs to do a better job explaining why the request is as much as it is, Neal said, among other issues.
Each mill brings the district about $91,000. Neighboring districts Bentonville and Rogers both collect about $1.8 million per mill because of the industry within their borders, he said.
"We were compared to Rogers and Bentonville," Neal said. "That became a very big negative for us. So we've got to address that."
The Bentonville and Rogers districts also proposed millage increases on May 9 of 1.9 mills and 3.5 mills, respectively. Voters approved both requests.
Pea Ridge's request would have pushed its millage rate to 49.9. The Fouke School District in the state's southwest corner currently has the highest rate at 49 mills.
The increase would have raised about $8.7 million for a new high school and remodeling and equipping of other school facilities. The state already had approved $10.6 million in partnership money if the proposal had passed.
Pea Ridge has two tries left to get a millage increase before the state withdraws its financial support, Neal said.
Pea Ridge's enrollment was 2,066 as of last fall, a 22 percent increase from five years earlier. High school enrollment is expected to be about 700 this fall. Neal couldn't provide an official capacity for the high school, but said he "wouldn't call (700 students) comfortable."
The new high school is planned for a site on Hayden Road, about a mile north of the current high school. Plans are to convert the current high school into a junior high school if a new high school is built.
Sharon Camp and her husband, Derry Camp, both voted against the millage.
"We are taxed to death," Sharon Camp said. "We are an older couple. We pay enough taxes as it is. I think they ask for too much millage. The older couples that we talked to have the same opinion we do."
Asked if she'd vote for a lower millage request, Camp said she'd have to think about it.
Rick Whitaker, a retired firefighter and Pea Ridge resident since 1971, also voted against the millage, but not because of the cost. Whitaker was deterred by what he said were unanswered questions related to additional traffic the high school would bring to Hayden Road, also known as Arkansas Highway 265.
"The answer we got was, 'We'll work on it.' That doesn't cut it," Whitaker said. "It's gridlock out in front of the high school. Traffic is a disaster in the morning and afternoon. It's going to be even worse if they put that high school where they're planning on putting it."
Neal said he's aware traffic is an issue, and it's something the district would like to see addressed before the next millage election. The district's primary and middle schools are just south of the high school, so it's a busy area on school days.
"It involves the city and they have to step up and fix that problem," Neal said.
Mayor Jackie Crabtree said the city has limited power because both roads are state highways. Everything has to go through the state, he said.
"We've got some options there that might work. We're still weighing our options," he said.
Whitaker also expressed concern about where the district would get the money for the extra staff members and amenities the new high school would require. He'd be willing to vote for the next millage proposal if someone could provide a definite plan on that.
In response, Neal said most of the district's staffing needs would be met by transferring existing staff members to the new building.
Neal said there's room for improvement in terms of how the millage increase is promoted. There was no effort to raise money for the campaign, something the board is considering doing next time, Neal said. Board members also talked about getting more involved in the campaign, he said.
Landon Nobles, a 1992 Pea Ridge High School graduate and chief operating officer of Kendal King Group, led this spring's millage campaign. When contacted Thursday, he said he wasn't aware of the board's decision to go for the millage increase again in February, and he wasn't willing to comment until he got more facts.
Sandy Button, board president and city clerk, said she was surprised by the election result.
"We're disappointed, but I feel like we have a great school district and a great community," Button said. "We've just got to move forward and adjust our thinking toward the growth in our community, because it's definitely growing."
Button said she wasn't certain what sank the millage request.
"Maybe we just need to get a little more information out to the voters," she said.
General News on 05/24/2017