The Jefferson County Election Board approved two items for the Nov. 2 school election ballot.
Existing millage rates for the Pine Bluff and Watson Chapel school districts will be addressed without proposed changes. Under Article 14, Section 3 of the Arkansas Constitution, districts are required to include their tax rates on the ballots in school elections, whether or not they are seeking a change.
The vote will not change the tax rate in either district.
Voters in the Pine Bluff district are asked to mark for or against its 41.7-mill tax, which according to the ballot includes a state uniform rate of 25 mills specifically for general maintenance and operation, 2 mills dedication to school buses and facilities, and 14.7 mills for debt service. The surplus revenues produced each year by the debt service millage can be used for other school purposes.
The 41.7 mills represent a 0.9-mill increase to voters in the former Dollarway School District, which was annexed into the Pine Bluff district on July 1, and the same rate for electors in the pre-annexed district.
Watson Chapel district voters will mark for or against its 34.1-mill tax, which includes 26.1 mills specifically for general maintenance and operation and 8 mills for debt service.
The current Watson Chapel millage rate was approved in May 2013 and is 3.9 mills fewer than the state average, according to a district official.