Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Public meeting set on millage increase

A public meeting has been scheduled to discuss a proposed 3 mill increase for the Prescott School District.

In a special meeting of the Prescott School Board, it was decided to set the meeting for Monday, February, 24. It will be held in the Prescott High School auditorium and is set to begin at 7 p.m.

The meeting, though, is to discuss raising property taxes by 3 mill and restructuring the district debt so another 4.6 mill can be moved to maintenance and operation, while providing much needed funds to build a multi-purpose complex at PHS.

State law requires all school districts to have a minimum of 25 mill for maintenance and operation. Currently, Prescott has 17.4 mill dedicated for M&O.

Should patrons of the Prescott district fail to approve the millage hike and restructuring of debt, the Nevada County Quorum Court will be required to increase the millage rate by 7.6 mill, and the district will have no funds for construction.

At the Feb. 11 meeting, Ray Rainey, of the bond firm Beardsley and Rainey, told the board how things would have to be done.

By requesting 3 mill from the voters, he said, restructuring debt and moving 4.6 mill to M&O, the district will meet the 25 mill requirement.

The other 10 mill, for bonded indebtedness, will be extended through 2028, or another three years.

In all, with the increase, Prescott's millage rate would be 35.1 mill, he said.

Should the bond issue be approve, Rainey continued, after all expenses are paid, the district would have $2,035,000 left for projects. This money would be in a lump sum, with the district having three years in which to spend it.

The funding, Rainey said, has been adjusted so if the state legislature does away with the debt service supplement the district would be covered. This supplement amounts to about $100,000 a year.

Should the quorum court be required to do the millage increase, the district would be at 25 mill for M&O, but would have nothing for projects, and would then have to wait five years before being able to attempt to restructure its indebtedness.

"The only way to get money for the projects," he said, "is for a millage increase from the voters."

Rainey reminded the panel voters can ask for the $300 homestead act credit for their real property, and this will affect the money brought in by the additional millage.

Currently, he said, 3 mill would increase the real property tax on a $50,000 home by $30 annually.

In making plans for the building, he said, the board should plan for the cost to be between $65 and $75 per square foot, depending on how construction is done.

Under the current standard, he added, 750 square feet is the norm for classrooms, but it may be a good idea to increase the size to 800 or 850 square feet in the new facility, depending on how things go in the legislative session where education is concerned.

Rainey also suggested the district plan on offering 60.5 credits.

Originally, the board had planned to schedule the election for April 22, but decided to have a public meeting first. Now, plans are to hold the election May 22.

The public meeting, according to Board President George Odom, is to tell the public what the plans are and how the money will be spent, along with the anticipated cost of the project.

Rainey warned the board not to count on having the debt service supplement, and told the members there are districts acting as though these monies will be there forever.

However, this supplemental money is only guaranteed for two years at a time and at the legislature's discretion.

"I don't think the legislature will make a decision before late summer or early fall," Rainey said. "But you must have the budget in the paper by July for the September school election."

He said the board could wait and hold the election in June or July, but any longer and it would be better to wait until September. "If you do it sooner, though, I feel we can get a better rate than if we wait until September."

Under the Lake View lawsuit, districts must have 25 true mill for M&O. Prescott, he said, had 25 mill on paper, but the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled this didn't count, even though all other districts in the state did things the same way.

All districts in Arkansas, he said, must have the 25 mill for M&O by November, or the quorum courts will make the required increase, which would be in effect as of Jan. 1, 2004.

Kay Hendrix, a member of the board, said she didn't want voters to feel it was an either/or situation.

"We need to ask the people of the district if they want no money to do projects, or do this so we can have the project," she said. "We have people saying they aren't being given a choice."

In a normal year, Rainey said, other boards feel the same way, but this isn't a normal year. Other boards, he pointed out, are not having public meetings before deciding what to do.

"There has been no year like this one," he said. "You can go to the public first and delay the election. You can have the election any time, but the public meeting must be done so the election can be advertised 60 days in advance."

Rainey suggested the meeting be at least 70 days prior to the election.

The election, he said, is a given, and people need to understand the board isn't trying to "pull a fast one", but doing the best it can for the students in district.