FAYETTEVILLE -- A candidate for the School Board's at-large Position 1 seat failed to pay property taxes for four years, according to Washington County tax records.
The property belonging to Elisabeth Beasley and her husband at 1504 Lafite Lane in Goshen was certified to the state land commissioner in June 2018 for failure to pay taxes starting with the 2015 tax year, said Nikki Heck, director of public affairs for the commissioner's office.
The commissioner's office set an auction date for the property of about June 2020. However, last year's auction season was canceled and 2020 auctions were rescheduled for 2021 because of the covid-19 pandemic, Heck said.
The Beasleys avoided an auction of their home when they paid $21,987 in taxes covering 2015 through 2018, plus $4,760 in interest, $2,198 in penalties and $162 in other state and county costs, according to a redemption deed filed by the land commissioner.
They paid another $5,674 to Washington County -- including interest and penalties -- on March 15 to cover 2019 taxes, according to county records. Those taxes were due in October 2020.
Property taxes help fund the Fayetteville School District. The district's millage rate is 45.65. The owner of a home with a market value of $200,000, for example, pays $1,826 per year that goes to the district.
Beasley, 47, is making her first attempt for public office. The former marketing and project manager is a hairdresser at Ginger Salon Studio.
"Our family endured a financial hardship that resulted in us being delinquent in our property taxes," Beasley said. "We worked to pay it in full and have remained current."
Beasley and her husband, Jonathan, bought their Goshen home in 2013, records show. It's the address Beasley used when she filed to run for the board, according to the Washington County Clerk's Office.
The Beasleys also have had issues with state income taxes. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration filed a certificate of indebtedness in January 2017 indicating the Beasleys owed $2,908 in income tax from 2013, documents show.
Last week, the department filed garnishment documents in Washington County Circuit Court alleging $1,667 of that debt remains unpaid; the documents listed Jonathan Beasley as the defendant and Cross Church of Springdale as the garnishee. Jonathan Beasley is an associate pastor at Cross Church, according to the church's website.
Elisabeth Beasley's opponent in the School Board race is incumbent Megan Hurley.
Hurley, 42, is seeking her second term. She's a former public high school English teacher and previous owner of Barre3 fitness studio.
Hurley said financial stress is one of the worst stresses people can experience.
"I really feel for people when they get stuck, and I know that can happen to anybody in any income bracket," Hurley said.
The board will have the responsibility of providing feedback to invest $114 million in district facilities from a February 2020 bond restructuring in the years ahead, she said.
"It isn't something that everybody should have to understand, but it's something that board members need to understand," Hurley said. "The district's finances are so much more complicated than personal finances or even a small business' finances."
Because it's an at-large seat, all district residents may vote in the race. The winner of the May 18 election receives a five-year term. School board members are not paid. Early voting began Tuesday.
Hurley won 55% of the vote in a two-way race to win her first term in 2016. She is the board's vice president.
The Washington County Clerk's Office reported 435 people in the county had voted in board elections as of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Nearly all of those voters live in the Fayetteville School District.