Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

May 20 election to decide bond restructuring in district

Gurdon School District voters will decide Tuesday, May 20, 2003, whether the district can restructure three existing bond issues.

Gurdon is among 246 of Arkansas 310 school districts that must either raise taxes or rework their existing tax structure.

The Arkansas State Supreme Court ruled in the Lake View School District's funding lawsuit that each school district must have a minimum of 25 actual maintenance and operation mills.

This ruling was based on Amendment 74 to the state constitution, already approved by the voters of Arkansas.

Gurdon distributes its current 36 mills as follows: 12.9 mills to maintenance and operation and 23.1 mills to debt service. The debt service millage needed to pay current bond payments is 13.2 mills. This means that 9.9 (23.1-13.2) could actually be transferred to maintenance and operation. An additional 2.2 mills would still be needed.

Rather than asking the voters to approve a 2.2 mill tax increase, the Gurdon School Board has opted to ask the voters to restructure three outstanding bond issues, one dated 1998 and two bond issues in 1999. These bond issues were scheduled for final payment in 2018, 2015 and 2010 respectively.

This option would extend the repayment term to the year 2022 for all three.

The property tax rate of 36 mills would continue at the current rate.

The Attorney General has ruled if the voters should not approve action to meet the dictates of Amendment 74, the quorum court of each county must increase the tax rate in November of 2003 to meet the required 25 mills for maintenance and operation.

Gurdon taxpayers could see their millage rate increase 12.1 mills, if this proposal to restructure is voted down in the special election.

The rationale to address this issue in special election, rather than wait until the regular school election in September, is based on the advise from fiscal agents Mark McBride and Carey Smith, who are employed by Stephens, Inc.

They have advised the Gurdon School District not to wait until September, due to the number of school districts who will be issuing new bonds and possibly flood the bond market.

They also contend that the sooner new bonds are issued the lower the interested rate will be.