Siloam Springs voters approve millage increase
Posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2008
SILOAM SPRINGS - Siloam Springs voters passed a 5. 4-mill tax increase 998 votes to 833 votes in the Tuesday election to fund the $ 33. 3-million the school district needs to build a new high school.
The new high school, with a completion date set for 2011, is needed to solve the overcrowding problem the district faces, school district Chief Financial Officer Quintin Trammell said.
Siloam Springs High School Principal Charlie Abernathy said now that the millage is passed the district needs to get down to the nuts and bolts of building the high school.
"The community saw what we saw - that the space issue needed to be addressed," Abernathy said.
The millage passed with 54. 51 percent of the vote in Benton and Washington counties. Sixty nine Washington County residents in the Siloam Springs district voted against the tax increase while 17 voted for it.
Trammell said the next step is for the district to map out when to issue bonds, meet with the district's architects to finalize plans and find out when the Arkansas Division of Academic Facilities can pay the promised $ 15. 3-million of the $ 54-million project.
"The passage of the millage was the only thing left that we had to get done before going on with our plans," Trammell said. "Now there's just the legal process with the state to go through."
The district expects to spend one year in the design process and two years in construction of the 287, 000-square-foot high school to be located on 55 acres south of the rodeo grounds.
Siloam Springs had failed millage increases in 2000 and 2002; but a 7. 3-mill increase passed with 63 percent of the vote in 2004. Since then, the school district has grown 27 percent, and more funding was needed for growth.
Trammell said," We were asking voters to pass the tax increase with the economy how it is, and the district wants to thank everyone who came out and voted for it."
Abernathy said the district was optimistic about the election because they did not know how to address the overcrowding problem if the millage did not pass.
"Honestly, we tried to block that out and be as positive as possible," he said. "I'm overjoyed for the students, faculty and community for what this new high school will bring."
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