Bentonville Again Seeks Tax Hike To Build Second High School

Voters in Bentonville are being asked for the second time in two years to fund a second high school, though this request is smaller than last year’s failed attempt.

The 2.9-mill increase would raise $73 million to build a school capable of educating 2,250 students. It would add about $5 a month in property taxes for an owner of a $100,000 home. A mill is one-tenth of one percent.

Last year, voters rejected a 6.7-mill increase that would have raised $120 million to build a school for 2,500 students. This year’s proposal cut $16 million in athletics spending, along with other areas. The city’s two high schools would share the current high school’s football stadium. Last year’s proposal would have built a separate stadium.

Bentonville School Board member Wendi Cheatham said the fast-growing school district must do something to keep up with its growth. The high school is expected to educate more than 5,000 students by 2015 in a school designed for 3,700. About 70 teachers at the high school “float,” pushing a cart with their supplies to classrooms where other teachers have an off-duty period, she said.

The district held about 20 community forums this past spring to get input on how to structure this second package. Bentonville is eligible for $13 million this year in state aid, which is unusual for a district with its wealth index. Cheatham said that kind of money probably won’t be available again because of increasing property values.

A recent poll by Walmart found 58 percent of respondents support the proposal.

Other districts are also seeking millage increases for school construction.

The Centerpoint School District is asking voters for a 4.25-mill increase to construct a new high school and convert the current high school/middle school into an elementary and middle school campus.

The Manila School District is asking for an additional 4.7 mills to raise $6 million to construct a new high school and construct, refurbish and remodel other school facilities.

The Flippin School District is asking voters to approve a 2.5-mill increase to build a new elementary school. T

he Searcy County School District is asking for a five-mill increase to build six classrooms and renovate a building at the elementary school, construct four classrooms at the high school, and install central heat and air at the Leslie fifth and sixth grade campus.

Voters in Alma are being asked to approve a 1.2-mill increase for school security and to pay salaries for three school resource officers.

Previous millage requests this year have had mixed results. Voters in the Lake Hamilton School District approved a 3.9-mill increase for facilities construction, while voters in the Watson Chapel School District approved a 2.3-mill increase for a new building for Edgewood Elementary School.

Millage requests to pay for increased security in Cedar Ridge and Batesville failed, however.