LITTLE ROCK — The Carlisle School District is seeking a property-tax increase of 9 mills in Tuesday's special election in hopes of benefiting from a 2005 state law that would help the district pay for a new high school.
The decision to replace the high school followed a state audit of district facilities that found several problems with the school's main building.
"The only thing in that building that was not identified as in immediate need of repair was the four exterior walls," saidFloyd Marshall, who was then the principal of the seventh through 12th-grade Carlisle High School.
He is now the superintendent of the 798-student school district in Lonoke County.
Fixing all the problems would cost the district about $5 million, said Carlisle School Board member Bryan Oliger.
"Our high school is about 54 years old," Oliger said. "We just didn't feel as though putting that kind of money into a building that old was a good idea."
The district's enrollment isgrowing. In the past three years, the district has grown by about 50 students, a nearly 7 percent increase. A new school would better accommodate that growth, Marshall said.
"We don't have any space over there right now," he said. "We've split rooms to have classrooms. So even if we renovated that, we'd also have to build some additional classrooms. So by the time we renovated and built more classrooms, it would cost us nearly as much as building a new facility."
By building a new structure the district also would get financial help from the state. Act 2206 of 2005 created the Academic Facilities Partnership Program, which authorizes the state to pay a portion of costs for construction for an academic purpose.
Not all districts need to seek a millage increase to participate in the program, but Carlisle district officials said the increase is the only way the district can afford to build a new high school.
A new school would cost between $12 million and $13 million, district officials say. Based on the district's property tax wealth, the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation determined that the state's contribution to the project would be about $4.4 million.
If voters approve the millage increase, the district's rate will rise from 33 mills, the lowest in Lonoke County, to 42 mills, the highest in the county. One mill produces $1 of property taxes for every $1,000 of assessed value. A county assesses property at 20 percent of its appraised value.That means a Carlisle resident whose home cost $125,000 - which is a typical home cost in Carlisle - would go from paying $825 to $1,050 in school taxes if the increase passes.
At present, the district plans for the new school to have capacity for about 500 students under one roof. Carlisle High School now has about 340 students who also attend classes in outlying buildings that surround the main building.
The district has a verbal agreement to buy 70 acres along U.S. Highway 70 if the millage passes, Marshall said.
Oliger said he expects building a new school to take about two years. Voter approval would mean the district could break ground in November, Oliger said, after the farmer who is now using the land harvests his soybeancrop.
He and Marshall stressed that district officials looked at ways to reduce or avoid the proposed tax increase before bringing it to voters.
"It's our hope that we can show the state that we are serious about education in a smalldistrict," Oliger said. "If we can pass this 9-mill increase, we hope it sends a message to our Legislature that we are committed to excellence."
There is no organized opposition to the tax increase. But the proposal has been a source of contention in conversations around town, said Janet Pasley, the mother of two Carlisle graduates.
Pasley is a member of the Carlisle School Task Force, a group of business leaders, teachers, parents and others who promote the school district.
"We are a small agricultural community," she said. "And this is a tough time for our farmers."
But she said she supports the school property tax increase because she thinks it's a wise investment in the long run.
"The high school is the lifeblood of our community," she said. It is the site of the city's sole auditorium, and many in the community attend the high school's football and basketball games, she said.
She also said that there are consequences for districts with poor school facilities.
Under Act 996 of 2007, districts that repeatedly fail to make progress in addressing inadequate facilities can be identified as being in "facilities distress." Districts that remain in "facilities distress" for two years can be consolidated with neighboring districts or reconstituted by the state.
Doug Eaton, the director of the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation, said it is unlikely Carlisle School District would face any immediate penalties if the millage fails on Tuesday.
He said the district could always go to voters with the millage increase again, and if it fails a second time, the district could re-examine its plans to see what is absolutely necessary to bring the high school up to code.
But Eaton said he would like the district to succeed in its current plan.
"From my position as the division director, I would really like to see the Carlisle community support the district's needs," Eaton said. "That is such a tremendous accomplishment for a district to go out and ask for help for education, and the voters get behind it and say 'yes, sir.' ... Because if they don't, it's like, 'We're not quite turning our back on the district, but we don't quite support you.' And that's quite a blow."
Arkansas, Pages 7, 8 on 06/11/2007