A majority of the new Helena-West Helena School Board will consist of members of the former community advisory board, voters decided Tuesday when they regained control of their public schools.
Voters in the Delta town also rejected a tax increase that would have financed an overhaul of Central High School, according to complete but unofficial election results.
One School Board candidate, who the returns show lost by an eight-vote margin, said she is considering requesting a recount. A separate race is headed to a Nov. 29 runoff after no candidate claimed a majority.
Residents regained from the Arkansas Department of Education a district with roughly 100 fewer employees, 500 fewer students, three fewer schools and several million dollars less in annual revenue than when they last had stewardship in 2011, when financial woes prompted the state takeover. The new board will meet for the first time next month.
The 1,391-student district's previous School Board and superintendent were swept from office in June 2011 when the state took over the school district. When that happens, the state's education commissioner acts as the district's school board.
The intervention coincided with a legislative audit that found the district was missing thousands of dollars' worth of equipment, failed to properly solicit bids for a project and paid some employees outside the parameters set by the salary schedule, among other missteps. The district had a negative projected fund balance of $2.3 million at the time.
Community advisory boards, which can be installed after the first year a state takes over a school district, can make recommendations to the education commissioner but cannot conduct official business. The education commissioner chooses who serves on the boards.
Of the seven volunteer members serving on the Helena-West Helena community advisory board, six ran for School Board seats.
Three of those six members ran unopposed: Lynn Boone will represent Zone 3; Sanetta Davis was elected to Zone 5; and Earnest Simpson Jr. won position No. 7, one of two at-large positions.
Andrew Bagley, the advisory panel's chairman, won election to the second at-large position. The unofficial results for position No. 6 were:
Bagley 2,615
Barbara Davidson 1,549
Bagley's win guarantees that advisory board members constitute a majority of the School Board.
"I think it says the patrons of the district are pleased with the direction the district is going," Bagley said of the districtwide results. "I think you can look to my race, which was an at-large race, and I'd say those numbers indicate a mandate to continue the very aggressive approach we [the advisory board members] have had."
Advisory board member Lynn Chadwick lost the Zone 4 election by an eight-vote margin, according to unofficial results:
Daniel Strickland 453
Chadwick 445
Chadwick, who has until Friday morning to request a recount, said she has been reading Arkansas election law to acquaint herself with the rules.
"With it just being eight votes -- and there were quite a few absentee ballots involved in all of this -- I'm considering asking for a recount," Chadwick said.
Five voters who live within the Zone 2 boundaries informed Chadwick that her race was not on their ballots, she said.
"Our School Board zones have just been redone for this election, coming out of state control, and there are people that are in my zone that my name didn't appear on their ballot," Chadwick said. "I've got some questions about whether or not there was an accurate posting, mainly because it needs to be gotten correct for every other future election that goes on."
The three-person Zone 1 race, which included advisory board member Marvin Jarrett, is headed for a Nov. 29 runoff. According to the unofficial results, none of the candidates eclipsed 50 percent of the vote. The unofficial totals were:
Jarrett 351
LeRoy Charles 262
William Gant 223
In the Zone 2 race, the only one not including an advisory board member, the unofficial results were:
Troy Bobo 410
Eddie Lee Jr. 186
The new board expects to meet for the first time Dec. 12 after members undergo required training, Bagley said.
Voters on Tuesday also shot down a bond issue that would have paid for upgrades to its only high school campus.
The complete but unofficial tally was:
Against 2,135
For 2,027
The 9.75-mill tax increase would have seeded about $28.7 million in renovation and construction at Central High School, which district leaders said is antiquated and in disrepair. The project would build new classrooms, renovate the gym and turn one of the buildings into administrative offices, Bagley said.
The Helena-West Helena increase would amount to about $144 per year on a $75,000 property, which Bagley said is the median value in the school district. The district's current tax rate is 34.1 mills.
Bagley said the School Board will have to quickly decide whether to try for a millage increase in the spring.
"One of the concerns that was expressed during this campaign was that people would not know who the board members were and they wanted to see how the board was composed before voting for such an increase," Bagley said. "I think it's worthy of consideration."
Another matter pressing the board will be whether to retain Superintendent John Hoy, who was the Arkansas Department of Education's assistant commissioner for public school accountability when he was installed as the district's chief in 2014.
Bagley said he expects the board will offer Hoy a contract extension.
"I would like to be able to stay here until I decide to retire," Hoy said. "However, I've made it clear with everybody since my arrival: That will be a local board decision."
Metro on 11/10/2016