A community meeting will be held Thursday regarding the proposed millage vote in the Southside School District. The meet will be at the Southside High School Auditorium beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The district is asking for a 4.8 percent increase to fund the construction of additional space due to the growth in student enrollment. The vote is scheduled for Nov. 2. Early voting begins Oct. 26.
The project’s construction cost is estimated to be around $39 million, however, the district applied for and received $22.7 million of partnership funding from the state of Arkansas. And with the restructuring of bonds, the district says another $10 million will be generated.
“We have a really small district in square mileage so when we ask for something, it’s a smaller group that the tax burden’s going to fall on,” Southside School District (SSD) Superintendent Dion Stevens (pictured above) told White River Now’s Gary Bridgman. “We’re asking taxpayers for an increase of what would turn out to be about $5 million of construction costs and that would be over a 30-year period. So, we think we have a good plan moving forward, and we just hope we could get the support of the community for this.”
According to online information from the district, upgrades and space are needed across the campus, including additions to the elementary, middle, junior high, and high school buildings. The junior and high school campuses together need 128,000 square feet in additional space, according to the state.
Stevens said the district has been working for the last three years to prepare itself for the time when student enrollment will be larger than today. The superintendent said the school board, administrators, the state education department, building engineers, and architects have looked into the future and helped to develop the plan to meet student and staff needs.
“It would be a 4.8 (mill) increase to what we already are,” said Stevens. “One mill for us generates about $1 million in construction costs. We’re kind of coming ‘hat in hand’ just trying to meet the needs of our teachers every day and we hope that we put a good plan in front of our community.”
To receive the full $22.7 million of state funding, all proposed projects would have to be completed. If any portion of district funding is not approved, the district would be required to forfeit a proportionate amount of money to the state, the SSD’s millage information page said.
Representatives from the school board and the project’s construction company, along with the district’s financial officer and Stevens, are all scheduled to be at Thursday’s meeting to answer any questions.
Another public meeting regarding the millage will be held on Oct. 18 at the auditorium. An email address is also available for questions regarding the proposed millage at: millage@southsideschools.org.
To view the district’s information page regarding the millage, click here.
Images via Southside School District / White River Now file image of Dion Stevens
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