Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Amendment 1 Passage To Keep Courts Out Of State's School Districts

In an effort to keep the courts out of the state's schools, Amendment 1 has been proposed for the Nov. 5 General Election.

Amendment 1, should it pass, would require all school districts in Arkansas to have a base property tax of 25 mills for the maintenance and operation of school districts.

According to State Sen. Mike Ross, this amendment is the result of a lawsuit filed in circuit court stating the current funding formula is unconstitutional because the same amount of money is not being spent on each student in the state.

Potentially, the suit claims, students are not receiving the same quality of education because of this.

One of the reasons is because of the difference in the amount of money one mill will generate in different districts. Ross said in some counties a mill will generate $1,200, while in others it could generate $1.2 million.

According to the Arkansas Department of Education, there are only seven school districts in the state which are not currently at the 25 mill level. None of the local districts would be affected and need a millage hike if the amendment passes.

Under the proposal, the 25 mill will be collected on the local level and sent to the state. At the state level, the monies will be equally divided among the districts, with the overall goal to spend $3,709 per student in Arkansas.

This, Ross said, will provide equal funding regardless of a district's wealth.

However, should a district decide, and the voters agree, the millage can be raised to cover other expenses.

State Rep. Percy Malone said the increase cannot put a district disproportionately over the funding formula with the $3,709 per student.

The idea, Malone said, is to keep the formula in balance with equal expenditure per student.

"The 25 mill makes more sense than a flat dollar amount," he said. "All districts must make the 25 mill effort, with the money going into the general revenue pool, along with the state's contribution."

This money, he said, would then be divided equally among the schools, based on student population.

However, there remains one problem -- transportation. Malone said some districts will need more money to cover their transportation costs, because they have to bus more students than other districts.

Ross said transportation costs need to be removed from the funding formula. This, he said, is an issue which will be revisited during the upcoming session of the legislature in 1997.

"There needs to be some flexibility in the amendment," Malone said.

"We need to keep the courts out of the school and keep the schools in the hands of local school boards."

Malone said under the current funding formula it's impossible to create equal funding for all students. The constitution, he said, states all children will get an equal education.

Under Amendment 1, one-third of the money for education will come from the millage, with the state kicking in the rest from sales tax collected, along with some federal monies.

"As long as the money stays at home," he said, "there can never be an equal amount for the children across the state. Amendment 1 will put a minimum millage requirement on all schools for maintenance and operation. All districts will get a flat rate per student."

Malone said districts will not be allowed to lower their current millage rates in order to default on bonds.

According to the proposal, the state will not retain any portion of the millage taxes collected. It also authorizes districts to levy additional millage for maintenance and operation and debt service obligations as long as the increase doesn't cause the district to become out of compliance with the funding formula.

In addition, the millage must be passed by the district's voters.

However, should a district pay off its bonded indebtedness, it can propose a decrease in millage to the voters, so long as it doesn't go below the 25 mills required. This vote, under the amendment, would be held at the general election.

Ross and Malone both endorse this measure as an effort to keep the state courts out of the state's schools.

"If it fails," Ross said of Amendment 1, "the state courts could take over the schools."

Malone said if the measure fails the courts could impose taxes to fund its mandates. "Amendment 1 is the answer to the court's question on equal funding."