FORT SMITH -- Some people in the small crowd that attended a forum Thursday night on the Fort Smith School District's school millage election questioned who can or should vote for the proposed millage increase.
About 30 people met at the Fort Smith Public Library for the forum hosted by the League of River Valley Voters to address questions about the district's plans for the millage increase and the election.
The school district is asking voters to go to the polls May 22 and approve a 5.558-mill increase to fund $120 million in improvements to the school system over the next five years. If passed, the district's 36.5-mill property tax would be raised, for the first time in more than 30 years, to 42.058 mills.
Early voting begins May 7.
"The proposal voters will ultimately decide on during the election represents an important investment in the district, and I can assure you it's something that will have an immediate and long-lasting impact on our individual and collective success and academic performance," said Jason Green, chairman of the citizens committee of the district's Vision 2023 strategic planning project.
Questions were written on cards by members of the audience and submitted to the league's Tracy Pennartz, who read them out loud.
One person asked whether it would be proper for persons who didn't own homes to vote in favor of the millage increase. The questioner pointed out that people who rent their homes may feel they don't have a right to vote for the millage.
Property taxes are levied on people who own real estate. Renters don't pay the property tax on real estate but do on personal property.
All residents have the right to decide whether to improve the schools in Fort Smith, Green said. He said many who live in rented homes have children in the Fort Smith schools and have a voice in how those schools should be maintained. He also pointed out that all will benefit from the improvements.
Green chaired the committee that made the funding recommendations to the school board, which amended the recommendations and approved the plan March 12.
Another person asked whether single people or childless couples should vote.
Green responded that school improvements benefit the entire community. He said a good education system would attract more people to the city, raise property values, draw businesses and industries and be a pipeline of talent for the economy.
School Superintendent Doug Brubaker said there were people without children who served on the committees that worked on the Vision 2023 project, and that their perspectives were important to the process.
The plan is to move sixth-graders from elementary school to middle school, and move ninth-graders to high school. The moves would make more room in the elementary schools and eliminate the need to transfer 450 grade-schoolers from their home attendance areas.
The moves would require expanding the district's two high schools to accommodate the incoming ninth-graders. Northside and Southside high schools also would get new gymnasiums and tornado shelters.
Other improvements include upgrading safety and security measures in all the schools, establishing a career and technology center, improving technology so all students would receive computers that would be on a replacement cycle, and renovating Darby and Ramsey junior high schools and Barling, Cook, Morrison and Woods elementary schools.
NW News on 04/07/2018