BENTONVILLE : More facilities pinned on vote
Posted on Monday, March 10, 2008
Teachers at Bentonville High School push carts cluttered with papers, books and files through crowded hallways.
They set up shop temporarily in other teachers’ classrooms that are empty during planning periods.
They’re called “traveling teachers,” a friendly euphemism for instructors who spend the day without a permanent classroom, and they’re one of several creative solutions for a growing school district where enrollment increases outpace Bentonville’s ability to build new classrooms, Superintendent Gary Compton said.
“What we have experienced has been borderline out of control,” Compton said. “When you get that kind of growth, all you can do is chase it. You just don’t catch it.” Voters in the Bentonville School District will decide Tuesday whether to increase property taxes by 3. 99 mills to fund an expected $ 209 million in new facilities, including six schools to be opened within the next five years.
If voters approve it, the measure will bring the district’s millage rate to 44. 09 mills. It would be the seventh-highest rate in Arkansas, according to the state Department of Education.
The additional property taxes also will be used to upgrade existing facilities and implement new technology in the district.
Bentonville, for the past few years, has been at or near the top of the list of the state’s fastest-growing school districts. Its schools gained 841 students, a 7. 5 percent increase, for the current school year, bringing total enrollment to 11, 959 students. The district gained 1, 100 students for 2005-06.
Even if no new families move into the district, swelling in the elementary grades will continue to create facilities needs, Compton said. Officials expect to see an increase of at least 1, 500 elementary pupils during the next three years as a result of incoming kindergarten classes that exceed the number of students in graduating senior classes, pushing existing facilities beyond capacity. “We can’t afford to wait,” Compton said. “We’re just further and further behind.” CONSTRUCTION PLAN After reviewing enrollment projections and technology needs, a district committee recommended building six schools: three elementary to open in 2010, 2012 and 2013; a middle school to open in 2010; and a junior high and a second high school to open in 2011. Many of the buildings will be constructed on 239 acres the district purchased in February.
After restructuring bond terms, extending the repayment period to lower interest rates and working with architects to project building costs, the committee finalized a total bond issue of $ 209 million.
If voters approve the issue, the resulting millage rate would be higher than other major Northwest Arkansas districts. Springdale’s rate is 38. 6, Rogers’ rate is 38. 7, and Fayetteville’s is 43. 8.
A mill is one-tenth of a cent, generating $ 1 of property taxes for every $ 1, 000 of assessed value. A county assesses property at 20 percent of its appraised value, and the assessment is multiplied by the millage rate to determine the taxes owed. If the increase passes, a homeowner in the Bentonville district with a home valued at $ 200, 000 would pay $ 159. 60 a year in additional taxes.
Compton attributed the higher rate in Bentonville to more residential growth and fewer commercial buildings than other districts in Benton and Washington counties. “One mill generates wildly different values in different districts,” he said.
WEALTH INDEX In contrast to Bentonville’s growth issues, many of the state’s smaller districts have attempted to pass millage increases to remodel and to expand existing, often deteriorating, facilities. In September elections, voters shot down proposals in 10 districts. Seven of those, including Huntsville and Green Forest, plan to hold elections by the end of April in second attempts to pass the measures.
The Huntsville district in Madison County will seek a 2. 9-mill tax increase on April 8, down from the 4-mill increase requested in September, Superintendent Alvin Lievsay told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in January. Many small school systems attempted to pass the increases to take advantage of state matching funds, provided at a greater level to districts that scored lower on a state-generated wealth index, said Julie Johnson Thompson, spokesman for the state Education Department.
The index is determined by calculating the ability of property owners in a district to generate significant tax revenue to support the school system.
Bentonville’s ability to obtain matching funds is significantly weaker than other districts. According to the state wealth index, the district is eligible for just a 3. 4 percent state contribution, and it must pay 96 percent of building costs. In contrast, Springdale qualifies for a 34. 8 percent state contribution.
The potential for a higher match is much greater in smaller, poorer districts, Thompson said.
“We had some facilities that were just in such poor shape that it did not facilitate the learning environment for students,” she said.
OTHER DISTRICTS’ PLANS Other Northwest Arkansas districts are looking at potential future bond issues to deal with increasing enrollment. Springdale and Rogers recently rolled out large building campaigns, each adding an additional high school. Fayetteville will consider a bond issue in the fall to finance construction of a new high school or expansion of its existing campus, which is stretched by a 1, 900-student enrollment and a lack of fine arts facilities, Superintendent Bobby New said. The district will not use the success or failure of Bentonville’s millage election as a factor in its decision because the districts are different, he said.
“We don’t base our decisions on others passing or failing their millage, because it’s hard to compare apples to apples,” New said. “Above 4 mills, it becomes pretty dicey, and the chance of it passing begin to drop.” The amount of Fayetteville’s millage increase will depend on plans for the high school, he said.
The school board has teamed with architects to generate several options. A cost analysis showed that expanding the existing site may cost around $ 65 million, requiring up to a 7-mill increase, New said.
Under a second option, the district may sell the existing campus to the neighboring University of Arkansas for $ 59 million, leaving $ 61 million in expenses for a new site in another part of the city, which would require an increase of 3 mills or 4 mills.
The expected cost savings of a new plan likely will win out over the current debate when voters hit the polls, New said.
“The feelings about the high school will be overshadowed by the actual cost of the tax increase,” he said. “Right now, we have an emotional discussion about the value of historic Fayetteville High versus a more analytical discussion of where it should be.
“ I really believe that we’ll move from emotional to analytical when you start talking about tax dollars and the expense associated with the high school decision.” Fayetteville had a failed millage election in 2005, when the district sought a 4. 8-mill increase to raise teachers salaries and upgrade technology. Voters are more likely to support tangible issues like buildings, New said.
“I think we can make a pretty strong case,” he said.
If Bentonville’s bond issue is approved, it will be the district’s second successful millage election in recent years. In 2002, voters approved $ 110 million in funding for the construction of five new schools, athletic facilities and an addition to Bentonville High School. Student growth escalated as those projects neared completion, creating the need for even more schools, Compton said. “I never would have believed in 2001 that we would be right where we are today,” he said.
To contact this reporter: eblad@arkansasonline. com
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