Voters few in school elections

Unopposed incumbents win; millage rates unchanged

In quiet early voting and absentee elections that drew no more than two dozen voters, North Little Rock and the Jacksonville/North Pulaski school districts' voters re-elected three unopposed incumbents to new terms of office.

Sandra "Sandi" Campbell was re-elected to a second three-year term to the North Little Rock School District's Zone 6 position.

Campbell, a retired school nurse and nursing supervisor in the district, received 12 votes.

The Zone 5 seat in the North Little Rock district -- currently held by 12-year board member Scott Teague -- was up for election this year but drew no candidates before the filing deadline in July. In cases where there are no candidates for election to an open school board seat, Arkansas Code Annotated 6-13-608 allows the current officeholder to continue in the position for another term, which in North Little Rock is three years.

However, Teague has indicated that he will resign, which will require the remaining members of the board to appoint a successor from Zone 5 to serve until the school board election in 2018.

The North Little Rock district did not propose any change in its 48.3-mill school property tax rate but placed that rate on the ballot as required annually under the state constitution.

The vote on the millage rate was:

For 10

Against 3

In the Jacksonville/North Pulaski district, Jim Moore was re-elected to the district's Zone 3 seat, and LaConda Watson, was re-elected to the district's Zone 4 seat.

Moore, retired from the U.S. Air Force and Reserves and now chairman of the Jacksonville Planning Commission; and Watson, the chief executive officer of the Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club, together received 3 votes.

The terms are for four years and are unpaid.

The Jacksonville/North Pulaski district did not propose any change in its school tax rate of 48.3 mills but did put the measure on the ballot as required annually.

The vote on the current tax rate was:

For 3

Against 2

The vote totals are complete but unofficial. The Pulaski County Election Commission will meet at 4 p.m. Thursday to review four provisional votes. The commission will meet again Sept. 28 to certify the results.

Because there were no contested school board elections this year and no proposed changes in the current property tax rate for schools, the elections in the North Little Rock and Jacksonville districts were held by early voting and absentee voting only. No polling places were open Tuesday -- election day -- in the two districts.

Elsewhere in Pulaski County, neither the Little Rock School District nor the Pulaski County Special School District held board elections this year.

The Little Rock School District is operating under state control and has no locally elected school board. It had a special election on a property tax extension in May, which met the legal requirement for an annual vote on its millage rate.

The Pulaski County Special School District elected a full slate of seven board members in November after operating without a locally elected school board for five years. The district will not hold a board election until 2018.

The Pulaski Special district had a special election on a property tax extension in June, which met the district's legal requirement to put its tax rate on the ballot this year.

Metro on 09/20/2017

Upcoming Events