District Millage Opposition Grows

BENTONVILLE — Opposition against the Bentonville School District millage issue continues to grow as Tuesday’s election nears.

The Bentonville Bella Vista Patriots, the Benton County Tea Party along with many individuals want the public to vote against the 6.7-mill tax increase to provide $128 million to the district.

The increase, if approved, would pay for a $94 million second high school and $23 million in athletic facilities. The 2,000-student high school would be built in Centerton. Also included are renovating Bentonville High School, operating costs and upgrades to technology and heating and cooling systems in the district.

Jim Parsons with the Bella Vista Patriots said the organization wants a school built in Bella Vista.

“If we are going to spend money to build a school in Centerton, why don’t we spend the money to build a school here?” Parsons said. “The problem with this election is that if we vote ‘yes’ then our taxes are locked in for 30 years and we will never get to have a school.”

Overcrowding at Bentonville High School can be fixed by Centerton and Bella Vista having their own school districts, Parsons said.

“I don’t understand why all the students around here have to go to Bentonville,” Parsons said. “In the winter time those kids are up there in the dark in the morning waiting for the bus and by the time they get back it is almost dark again. They are losing a lot of instruction time just being on a bus.”

Parsons said he isn’t advocating a “no” vote against the millage increase because he doesn’t care about education.

“We are not against kids, we are just for our kids,” Parsons said.

Travis Riggs, board member, said districts are decided at the state level. The state has consolidated districts in recent years, not divided them, he said.

The Patriots have produced nearly 100 signs asking residents to vote against the millage. The organization also has used fliers to inform the public.

The Benton County Tea Party sent an email to its members asking them to vote “no.”

“The tea party is not against education,” said Brent Meyers, chairman Benton County Tea Party. “The thing we object to is the $130 million dollars that is being thrown into a 30-year-mill-tax. We believe the school district can go back and re-evaluate their position in this economy. If we have overcrowded schools they need to come back with a more reasonable proposal for the voters.”

Amber Morey was a member on the Third Alternative Committee set up by the Bentonville School Board in January to find a compromise between supporters of a ninth-grade center and second high school. She plans to vote “no.”

“The $94 million for a second high school does not make sense when the first option was for a ninth-grade center at $63 million,” Morey said. “I just don’t think it is financially responsible.”

Morey said a ninth-grade center was the first choice of the superintendent and the high school and junior high school principals. She said a ninth-grade center could have saved the district the cost of athletic facilities.

A small school focused on career technology or vocational education are other options that would have been cheaper, Morey said.

“My biggest issue is the money that they are asking for,” Morey said. “We have people who can’t afford their taxes now. We have to be responsible.”

Morey confirmed Wednesday that Steve Carter, another member of the Third Alternative Committee, mailed postcards against the millage.

The mailer asks people vote “no.” It compares school millage rates and past school construction costs. It also states a new school would not be fiscally responsible until 2043. An employee at Carter’s office said Carter was in Ukraine.

Superintendent Michael Poore said he hopes voters continue to listen to both sides of the issue.

“My hope is that people continue to stay vested over the next week, they continue to dig for facts on the pros and cons,” Poore said. “This should be an issue that every person is involved in. This involves our kids and it is an economic decision.”