Earle residents set to vote on millage

Earle residents set to vote on millage

District hopes to use funds to build new elementary school

news@theeveningtimes.com

Residents in Earle will vote on whether or not to increase the school millage to build a new elementary school.

Earle School District is asking voters to approve a 10 mil hike to fund the project. If approved, the millage rate would increase 44.8 mils to 54.8 mils.

Superintendent Rickey Nix said the district is proposing to build a new $7 million 42,000 square foot elementary school.

The new building will have 18 classrooms, a computer lab, media lab, art and music rooms, and office space for school staff.

According to Nix, the current elementary school was built back in the 1950s and has reached the end of its usefulness.

“It’s just old,” Nix said.

“It’s getting close to 60 and 70 years old.”

The new building would also put the students all in one building. The current campus has several outbuildings which require students to go outside to get to class.

“The main thing this will do for our kids is get them under one roof,” Nix said.

“So this will get them out of the heat and rain.”

Plans call for the demolition of the existing school building and several out buildings. The district will keep the gymnasium and the cafeteria.

“We’re going to use the current site,” Nix said. “We will tear down some buildings to make room.”

If approved by the voters, construction on a new school could begin as early as November.

“We’ll be able to begin demolition on some of the buildings right away,” Nix said. Earle currently has the highest millage rate in the district. The millage in Marion is 40.70 and 29.0 in West Memphis.

However, Nix said voters in Earle need to understand that the millage is only higher because a mil does not raise as much revenue in Earle as it does in Marion or West Memphis.

“In Earle, a mil only generates about $28,000,” Nix said. “You compare that to Marion. One mil in Marion generates somewhere around $350,000. So there is a large discrepancy. So when you compare mil to mil, it’s not even. We don’t generate as much local revenue because of the poverty in Earle and the district. So the only way we can do it is to raise taxes.”

If the millage is passed, residents with a home appraised

at $50,000 – which is the average value in

Earle – will see their tax bill go up eight dollars a month or $96 a year.

Nix said he hopes voters will see the need for a new elementary school and approve the increase.

“We’re not building something frivolous,” Nix said.

“We are asking to take care of our kids. This is for the students in Earle. They deserve a decent school. So I ask that you please go vote and get this passed.”

The millage vote will piggy-back on the Sept. 19 School Board Elections.

Today is the final day for early voting, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at the Marion Courthouse.

Election Day is Tuesday, Sept. 19. Polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. through 7:30 p.m. at the following locations on Election Day: St. Luke Church and the Earle City Hall Annex in Earle, and Marion Fire Station No. 1 in Marion.

Voters must verify their registration by showing a document or identification card that shows the name and photograph of the person to whom it was issued, and must be an ID and issued by The United States government, The State of Arkansas, an accredited postsecondary educational institution in the State, or the County Clerk.

A total of four races across the three public school districts in Crittenden County will be decided in the upcoming

School Board elections.

Of the four seats at stake in Crittenden County, only two are involved in contested races. In Earle, the School Board Zone 4 seat will be contested between Eric Cox and Melvin Bowles.

In Marion, the School Board Zone 4 candidates will be Glenda Bryan and Rob Rash.

By Mark Randall