This letter is written to advise each of you and put you on notice that I have contacted my attorney concerning the following emergency injunction. My attorney relayed to me that I first needed to contact each of you in order to settle this issue without taking it to the level of the court system.
As I see it, each of you are highly invested in the benefit of the school and the children. Far more so for the school as opposed for the taxpaying citizens who are actually paying their hard-earned money for the school I personally voted against the first millage increase but since I knew that the school was getting overcrowded, I actually voted "for" the second millage.
the problem I am having an issue with is the fact that many of you probably already knew when the millage passed that it did not cover any of the expenses of furnishing the new high school buildings.
Question? Why do you come up with this information after the fact. It is like buying a new truck and finding out that the tires, motor and transmission is not included in the price of the truck.
The following brief is a general synopsis of my argument. I hope to hear from each of you individually and or as a whole. I would like an opportunity for a face to face conversation with each of you.
Boyd B. McNiel verses (sic) the Pea Ridge School Board
Brief for Benton County, Arkansas Court:
On behalf of myself, as well as all of the other Pea Ridge taxpayers who voted in opposition to the millage increase to fund the new Pea Ridge high school buildings last year, I Boyd B. McNiel, respectfully request that the Benton County Court issue an Emergency injunction against the Pea Ridge School Board.
About two years ago the school board asked the voters for a large millage increase which got voted down by about 55%. Then the following year the school board came back and lowered their request and this time it passed by about 55%.
The voters approved the millage increase which was supposed to generate about $9.7 million. The state of Arkansas i supposed to add about $10.3 million in matching funds. This adds up to about $20 million dollars to build the new school buildings with. This is all that the voters approved. The Pea Ridge voters did not approve any additional money.
The Pea Ridge school board is currently considering approving the issuing of bonds in order to fund another $97 million to pay for over 20 additional expenditures such as furniture and sound systems which the taxpayers did not originally approve of.
I respectfully request that the court give relief and order an emergency injunction against the Pea Ridge school board members, (Sandy Button, Jeff Neil, Ryan Heckman, Jenny Wood, Mindy Caworth (sic)), in order to compel the school board to refrain from even considering any such financial remedies to their financing short falls without first consulting the Pea Ridge taxpayers as a whole for a vote of approval on these financial matters.
This proposed financing of this bond issue is just another back-door underhanded scheme of getting around the express will of the taxpaying citizens. if the current School Board members are allowed to get away with this they will in essence be putting the future board members in a bind when they need to raise additional funds in the future years to come.
Boyd McNiel
Pea Ridge
Editorial on 08/07/2019