Watson Chapel School District officials hope that residents will see the benefits of a limited increase in their property taxes by approving their request to increase the district millage by 5.7 mills during an Aug. 9 special election.
By increasing the millage rate from 34.1 to 39.8, the district expects to generate enough funds to pay its portion of a facilities partnership program with the Arkansas Department of Education toward a new high school facility and other projects.
School officials said its partnership would fund more than 75% of a $23 million project, leaving the WCSD with the remaining balance. In December, the district announced it would receive $14,564,877 from the state, or more than 78% of the projected $18,573,147 bill for the high school, leaving the WCSD to cover the rest.
The campaign to pass the increase is the first significant project under interim Superintendent Tom Wilson, who began his duties July 18 following the resignation of Andrew Curry.
"We want everybody to know, I'm the superintendent and I put things on the table," Wilson said. "I want the public to know everything about why we're going for the millage, what we're trying to do. This millage means a lot to this community. We're losing enrollment. We want to stop that. We want to be positive. We want to get more programs in."
So far, the question has not met without opposition.
"Of course, we have naysayers," Watson Chapel School Board President Sandra Boone said. "They're saying they don't want taxes to go up. A couple of couples are saying, 'We only want to support Coleman Elementary,' and I tell them we can't do just that.'"
The intermediate school, grades 4-6, is already undergoing a $500,000 project including improvements to the gymnasium interior, new awnings and duct work coverings for the roof.
HOW MUCH MORE?
If an increase is approved, an approximately 92,500-square-foot high school would be constructed at the site of the present junior high school, which was built in 1945. Curry said in December the campus, which was the site of a March 2021 school shooting, had a suitability rating of zero, meaning the campus has no useful life remaining.
A new high school would minimize the number of access points on campus, and the present high school campus, built in 1977, would become the junior high.
"If we can get the new high school in, that's going to attract more people to this area," Wilson said.
Officials also want to construct Federal Emergency Management Agency-approved safe rooms, add state-of-the-art security and enhance technology at the new high school "to teach career-oriented coursework," and add playground equipment and improve the cafeteria at Coleman Elementary, according to a brochure on the millage.
A resident in the WCSD within Pine Bluff city lines currently pays property taxes at a rate of 53.7 mills. That includes the present district rate, 11.6 mills to the city and 8 mills to the county.
A mill is equal to one-thousandth (0.001) of the assessed value of property. Of the requested increase, 3.7 mills would go toward debt service and 2 mills would go toward maintenance and operations.
According to a tax table, if a home in the district and in the city is valued at $50,000, the property would be assessed at 20%, or $10,000, making the tax bill $537. Adding 5.7 new mills would add $57 to the tax bill, or $4.75 per month.
For such a home valued at $100,000, the tax bill is $1,074 and would increase by $114, or $9.50 per month, if the millage increase passes. A $300,000 home makes the tax bill $3,222 and would increase by $342, or $28.50 per month, if the increase is successful.
Those figures do not take into account personal property such as vehicles.
Residents whose property qualifies for the Amendment 79 homestead property tax credit see a discount of $375 on their tax bill.
STILL THE LOWEST IN JEFFERSON COUNTY
Even if voters approve the increase, Watson Chapel's millage would still rank lowest among school district rates in Jefferson County. White Hall, which is nearing completing of a building project funded by a 2020 millage increase, has a rate of 42.1 mills, and the Pine Bluff School District has two millage rates based on pre-annexation zones: 41.7 for the former PBSD and 40.8 for the former Dollarway district.
A ballot measure to bring the Dollarway zone's millage rate in line with the old PBSD zone failed last November.
The state average school district millage, based on September 2017 rates, was 37.88, and the average total millage was 47.92.
"We're raising everybody in this area's kids so they'll have a great life, and I tell them to go live the American Dream," Wilson said. "I want them to get the best education possible. Watson Chapel gave me a great education. I went to college, got my master's, I came back and coached here for five years. I've been in this business 46 years, and I really love the business, and I want everybody to enjoy whatever field they go into, but we've got to provide the foundation. We want to be competitive with other schools in this area, and we want to keep our kids. We don't want them school-choicing somewhere else or doing them something like that. We want them to know we're going to offer them the best program just for you, and we want those parents to understand that."
A new high school would also provide modernized equipment and give students a better attitude about their educational experience, Boone said.
"It's not about the board or stakeholders," the retired teacher said. "It's about students, getting them prepared for the future and making sure the district is solvent."
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article gave an incorrect date on the previous millage increase request in the Dollarway zone of the Pine Bluff School District. The measure failed in the Nov. 2, 2021, election.
A rendering of the side entry view of the proposed Watson Chapel High School is shown. The drawing is not the final design, according to a school official. (Special to The Commercial/Watson Chapel School District)
Tom WilsonWHEN AND WHERE TO VOTE
Early voting for the special election on the requested Watson Chapel School District millage increase is from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Aug. 8 at the Jefferson County Courthouse. Election day is Aug. 9, and polling sites will be open from 7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
m Polling sites are, by precincts:
m South Pinewood Baptist Church: 51, 53, 56, 57, 59
m Sulphur Springs United Methodist Church: 54, 55, 58, 66, 67
m Gospel Temple Missionary Baptist Church: 61, 62, 64, 414, 415, 416
m Highland Baptist Church: 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 450
m St. Peter’s Missionary Baptist Church: 311, 312, 316, 451, 452
m Good Faith Carr United Methodist Church: 314, 322, 324, 325, 326, 327
m First Missionary Baptist Church: 315, 317, 323
m New Town Missionary Baptist Church: 417