Jacksonville voters approve millage hike for schools

Fifty-six percent of Jacksonville voters approved a 7.6-mill increase Tuesday (Feb. 9), allowing the district to build a new high school and elementary school and make improvements in other schools.

The tax increase raises the district’s millage rate to 48.3 mills.  The vote was 2,073 for and 1,634 against – a smaller margin of victory than supporters had hoped for after Jacksonville voters in 2014 voted 95% in favor of detaching the Jacksonville and North Pulaski County schools from the rest of the Pulaski County Special School District.

School officials say new facilities are needed because of the facilities’ current poor condition and to enable the district to be declared racially “unitary.” As a former part of the Pulaski County School District, Jacksonville is still a part of the long-running school desegregation case and must improve its facilities for all students.

The facility will be built from a combination of the millage increase, state funds, and funding coming from the Department of Defense because of the presence of the Little Rock Air Force Base. In the meantime, students will attend classes as part of the new district in facilities for the first time in the fall.

Almost all of the campaign’s margin of victory came from early voters, 66% of whom supported the request. The request seemed well on its way to victory until some boxes reported heavier opposition to the increase.