Voters approve 3.9 mills

Thanks to more than 58 percent of the registered voters in the Pea Ridge School District, a new high school will be funded.

The School Board's request for an additional 3.9 mills was approved by 638 (58.53 percent) voters compared to 452 (41.47 percent) who cast votes in opposition. The total number of votes cast in February election for an additional 3.9 mills was 1,090, 23 percent of the registered voters. More voters turned out for the Feb. 13 special school election than did for the election last May even though there were more issues on the ballot in May.

"Planning has now begun," school superintendent Rick Neal said, adding that a meeting is scheduled this week with a construction management team to begin the process. He said groundbreaking will be six to seven months away. There are many steps to the process including presenting the plans to the State Department of Education and once that's approved, to the city Planning Commission.

"Everything is set to domino as far as land acquisition," Neal said.

When the 5.1 millage increase was defeated last May, and voters complained about the proposed site of the new high school on Hayden Road and the increased traffic that would be created at Hayden and Pickens roads, school officials reconsidered the proposals. A 20-acre site off Hazelton Road became available as a land trade with RLP Development in exchange for the land on the corner of It'll Do and Pickens roads where the baseball and softball fields are. Neal said now that the millage is approved, attorneys will meet and prepare documents for the land trade.

City officials have assured voters that Hazelton Road will be paved with three lanes near the school to alleviate any traffic congestion.

The new high school will provide classrooms for 10th through 12th grades and include an event center that will be available to both the school and community. Other grades will be redistributed among the other four campuses. The state has pledged $10.6 million to Pea Ridge as part of equitable and adequate funding law which was developed as a result of the Lake View lawsuit.

There are 4,684 registered voters living in the 53 square miles of the school district boundary. Only 19 percent voted in the last special school election held in May 2017. The request was defeated by a small margin -- 421 (46.01 percent) for and 494 (53.99 percent) against. At that time, the request was for a larger millage request (5.1 mills) and a different site.

This year, there were 227 votes cast early with 155 (68.28 percent) in favor of the millage and 72 (31.72 percent) opposed. There were 863 votes cast Tuesday in the polling place, First Baptist Church. Poll workers were kept busy with a steady influx of voters.

"I could have used one more machines and one more worker," Gary Goins, election sheriff, said. There were three poll workers and three machines.

Goins said he had to turn away two people -- one, a voter who registered the preceding week, after the deadline for this election; and another who was a registered voter in the Bentonville School District but whose children attend Pea Ridge schools.

One voter said he specifically moved to Pea Ridge because of the quality of the schools, explaining that he got tired of the traffic in the "city" and liked the small-town atmosphere of Pea Ridge. He said he and his wife investigated the schools and wanted their young child to attend school in Pea Ridge where he wouldn't "just be a number."

General News on 02/21/2018