LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - In a May 3 story about Pulaski County Special School District taxes, The Associated Press reported an erroneous amount for a proposed increase. Voters are being asked to increase their millage rate by 5.6 mills, not a total increase of $5.6 million.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Pulaski County voters to consider 5.6-mill tax increase
Pulaski County voters to consider 5.6-mill property tax increase for school improvements
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Voters are poised to soon decide whether to endorse property tax increase for infrastructure improvements within the Pulaski County Special School District that could speed up the district’s removal from federal court supervision.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (https://bit.ly/1K3LH2t) reports the 5.6-mill tax increase would finance a $221 million districtwide building and renovation program. The construction plan is intended to modernize buildings that are on average 44 years old. It calls for new Wilbur Mills and Joe T. Robinson high school campuses, doubling the size of Sylvan Hills High and building two elementary schools.
The tax increase would move the district’s tax rate from 40.7 mills to 46.3 mills. Taxes on a home valued at $100,000 home would go up about $112 a year.
A federal judge presiding in the 32-year-old Pulaski County school desegregation lawsuit said last year that before Sherwood can form its own school system, the Pulaski County Special district must comply with the terms of its desegregation plan and be released from court supervision. One of the district’s remaining obligations is to equalize the conditions of its schools.
Beverly Williams, a Sherwood alderman and a proponent of creating a Sherwood school district, supports the tax hike.
“We want this because all children need better facilities. This is a good thing,” said Williams, who is a former administrator in the Pulaski County Special district. “And I want it to come out loud and strong that we in Sherwood support our children.”
Derek Scott, the Pulaski County Special district’s executive director of operations, said the district last passed a tax increase in 1992 for operating and technology expenses, which didn’t include facilities.
“We just have so many facilities that are reaching the end of their expected life spans all at the same time,” Scott said. “Because of that, mixed with the expected enrollment growth in the Sherwood area, we can’t do what we need to do to improve the educational environment without an increase.”
No organized opposition to the proposed increase has come forward.
Early voting begins Tuesday. The special election is set for May 12.
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