Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

School board meeting set

The Prescott School Board will be meeting on Aug. 22 at 6 p.m. in the High School lobby. This is the last regularly scheduled meeting of the board before the September school elections which will determine whether the district will get a millage increase.

The millage issue is set to go before the voters on Sept. 19. There are only two items on the school ballot - an uncontested seat on the board and the millage. According to a ballot provided by the clerks office, Sandra Evans Tatum is running for re-election for Position 2. Tatum will serve a five-year term.

The millage issue calls for a 4.7 mill increase over the current millage rate.

The ballot reads, in part:

Vote on measure by playing an X in the square above the measure either for or against. The only two options are FOR tax and AGAINST tax.

The issue of the millage has been discussed for the past few months in the district as Prescott Superintendent Hyacinth Deon outlined plans for renovations that have been dictated by the state. During discussions, several points have been noted.

One point is that the state will participate in the renovations and repairs, but only as long as the buildings in question are found to be at a specific level of use. Buildings are given a score based on their condition, age and expected life. When numbers reach a specified point, the state will no longer participate in the renovation and repair process.

Deon has cited this as a reason for taking on more of the projects as soon as possible. The board took out a loan to pay for some repairs, then agreed to ask voters for a millage increase.

By law, the state must have 25 mills set aside for operating. The mills for debt service and other needs varies from one district to the next.

Deon said state Representative Tommy Roebuck attended a recent workshop of the board and that he pledged his support for the millage increase.