Bentonville millage failure not expected to affect Siloam Springs
Posted on Saturday, March 22, 2008
BENTON COUNTY - When Siloam Springs School District patrons head to the polls June 10 to vote on a millage increase, school officials hope the city's residents don't have the same thoughts regarding an increase as patrons in Bentonville did.
The thought is that the failed March 11 millage increase in the Bentonville School District won't affect Siloam Springs' millage campaign.
"When we had failed millages before, it didn't affect others' (millage campaigns ), so Bentonville's millage (failing ) shouldn't affect ours," said Patti Eiland, a parent who serves as facilitator of Siloam Springs' facilities steering committee. "What we're asking for will stand on its own merit. We're asking for more space for our students. "
More specifically, the district is asking voters for an additional 5. 4 mills to fund the remaining $ 33 million needed to build a new high school, Superintendent Ken Ramey said.
"We are out of classroom space," he said.
The project's total cost is estimated to be $ 53. 3 million, but the state has said it would provide $ 15. 3 million, and the district already has $ 5 million, leaving $ 33 million to raise with the millage increase.
Ramey said that so far all the public feedback he's received has been positive, although he knows at least some people will vote "no," which is somewhat of a cause for concern.
"Anytime you ask for a millage increase, you're going to have a certain group of people who are basically against taxes of any kind," he said. "Certainly with that, on top of the economic conditions that are shaky at best, we certainly are concerned."
Although Siloam Springs officials recognize that there are some potential problems to overcome, they believe now is the best time to move forward.
"We're committed to this," Ramey said.
One issue is the increasingly overcrowded conditions in all the schools, and another is the state funding that is expected. If the district's portion of the project funding falls through, the district could lose its state aid. It's possible that the state could come back with the money, but it's not a guarantee.
"That fosters some of the timing," Ramey said.
Eiland agreed and said that one component of the campaign that is working in the district's favor is that officials believe they will have to ask for a smaller millage increase than originally thought. In 2004, the district came out with a three-phase plan, each expecting to need some sort of millage-increase proposal. The first phase, which built the new Allen Elementary School, added on to the other two elementary schools and the middle school, as well as providing some much-needed renovations, which were recently completed.
"We've focused on K-8; now it's time to focus on the high school," Ramey said.
The second phase will be to construct the high school and to reconfigure all the grades, which should solve the district's overcrowding problems throughout all the schools, Eiland said. This will make the third planned phase unnecessary.
Siloam Springs had failed millage increases in 2000 and 2002, but the 2004 millage increase passed.
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