Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Nevada School Board updated on millage issue

When the Arkansas Legislature adjourned, it left with a number of major issues unresolved, according to Nevada Superintendent Rick McAfee.

McAfee, at the April meeting of the Nevada School Board, said the legislature did nothing of consequence in its last few days of the session, and didn't address the issue of consolidation.

However, he said, both houses did pass a bill by Jodi Mahony preventing school boards from entering into contracts for more than $75,000 without approval by the Arkansas Department of Education.

All existing contracts, he said, will be valid, but districts won't be able to do more without an OK from the ADE.

"This restricts everything and takes power from the boards," McAfee said. "It's being done to protect the state from having to pay on multi-year contracts."

The Nevada district, he said, won't be affected with its plans to restructure bonded indebtedness. The interest rate, McAfee added, is lower than originally projected.

The district, he said, is not seeking any new money, nor any millage increase, but is simply holding a special election on May 13 so it can restructure its existing debts.

Voting will be done at the Nevada school from 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

Should the issue fail, he said, the Nevada County Quorum Court will be required to step in and raise the millage so the district will have 25 mill for maintenance and operation, as required by the Arkansas Supreme Court.

This would mean a tax increase of 16 mill for residents in the district. It translates into about $80 a year more on homes assessed at $50,000.

Should the court mandate the increase, the district's millage rate would be 50.8.

The ballot issue, he said, will stretch the district's payments for 23 years, while keeping the millage rate where it currently is  34.8 mill.

In addition, McAfee said, if it fails, the district could be hard-pressed to make its bond payment next year. The district would have to enter into a loan agreement to secure funds to pay the bond while waiting for the tax revenues to come in.

One problem, he said, is there has been talk in the General Assembly of raising the millage for M&O to 30 or 35 mill. This would mean those districts seeking a millage increase now couldn't ask for another one until next year.

This is because, by law, districts can only pass one millage issue a year.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, he said, plans to do an adequacy and facility study, with the adequacy study costing more than $600 million, with the facility study expected to cost another $350 million.

McAfee said Huckabee will go to the legislature with this billion dollar tab telling the legislators they have to meet it, unless they follow his plan which will save the state $400 million.

Should the legislature follow the Huckabee plan, he said, schools will be consolidated and the governor will get what he wants with 1,500 students in a district.

This plan, McAfee continued, could add 1,100 state employees under the governor's control, and most superintendents would become state employees once the educational cooperatives are restructured.

Operating a K-8 facility at Nevada, he said, would cost $7,000 per month in utilities for heating and cooling because the structure can't be maintained properly otherwise.

"I expect Huckabee would close it down. This has happened in other states."

Studies show there is little, if any, savings with consolidation. McAfee said he expects the number of school districts in the state to drop from 310 to about175.

The proactive schools, he said, consolidating voluntarily by Aug. 1, would get help and not have to meet the 1,500 students per district mandate, otherwise, the students will be placed where the state directs them to go.

According to McAfee, the recent consolidation between the Stamps and Lewisville districts would be left alone as this was a voluntary consolidation. However, the question is why wouldn't Nevada be left alone as it, too, is the product of a voluntary consolidation.

The state has come down from expecting districts to offer 62.5 credits. McAfee said the new plan is for districts to offer 38 credits next year, and 42 the year after. Nevada will have no problem meeting this requirement, as it currently offers more than 42 credits.

"I don't think they're going to add the second foreign language and the vocational courses," he said. "This is doable for a district with 500 students. But there's no clear cut plan placing the children first with the governor or legislature."

There is an option other than consolidation, he said  annexation. Under an annexation plan, the districts could merge with one absorbing the other. There would be no changing of school names, nor mascots, and, if it's determined districts don't have to have 1,500 students, the annexation could be dissolved.

A consolidation, he said, could cause animosity and require the name of a school and its athletic mascot to be changed, along with the school colors.

An annexation, he said, could bring Waldo and McNeil to Nevada, thereby giving Nevada the magic number of 1,500.

The Nevada board agreed to fight as long as possible so the district can maintain its own identity.

In other business, the board was informed the students are finished with standardized testing and are getting ready for the end of school.

Graduation for the Nevada High School senior class will be Thursday, May 15.