School bond foes struggle in Collierville

Petitioners coming up short on deadline day

Unless hundreds of signatures on petitions pour in today, a volunteer-led fight to give Collierville voters a referendum on a bond issue to fund construction of a new high school will evaporate in the summer heat.

Organizers need 3,285 signatures, 10 percent of the registered voters in Collierville, presented to the Shelby County Election Commission by close of business today.

By Monday afternoon, Diane George, the group’s unofficial leader, was not expecting a miracle.

“It’s hard to gather signatures because people are not engaged,” George said. “Some people didn’t even know anything about the issue.”

Finding volunteers dedicated enough to run a petition drive in the heat of the summer also was difficult. With no funding, and what George characterized as “misinformation” from town leaders, she hoped the Board of Mayor and Aldermen would put the issue to the voters.

The board approved a bond sale July 13 of as much as $95 million for construction of the school.

The board had approved a 25-cent property-tax increase that — along with $1.7 million in sales tax revenues each year — will pay off the debt in 30 years. The increase will mean an additional $125 a year in taxes on a $200,000 home.

Residents have 20 days from publication of the legal notice to gather signatures. The notice was published July 15 in The Daily News.

“It’s a matter of having the right to vote on something,” said resident Bill Arnold, who has gathered signatures for weeks in support of a referendum.

“My concern was simply there are people in Collierville that don’t have money; they are poor,” Arnold said. “We have a spectrum of people here, and if they are on very modest incomes, an increase in the property tax means they have to give up medication or not run the air conditioner.”

Calls to Town Hall are

running “at least 10 to one, if not greater, in favor of the new high school,” said Mark Heuberger, public information officer, who is part of the team monitoring citizen calls.

“Referendums are usually done when there is an outcry, if you will, or significant sentiment from the community to (go) in one direction or the other,” Heuberger said. “Why spend $100,000 of taxpayer money to have a referendum when you’re not hearing significant feedback from the community?”

George says her team was shortchanged on time because it expected publication of the notice in either of the two community newspapers that circulate in Collierville, including one, she says, the city has a contract with for business.

George also said there was a discrepancy about whether the group needed signatures from 10 percent of the registered voters or 10 percent of voters who participated in the last gubernatorial election.

Residents, she says, also understood there would be three readings with a public hearing on the issue instead of the one reading the issue received.

Heuberger said officials followed the routine procedures in the bond issue, including using the same newspaper for legal publication.

The city conducted an unscientific poll this spring, mailing the question on bonds to the roughly 15,000 utility customers. Those responding voted against the spending, 2,232 to 2,194 — a scant 38 votes.

The Collierville effort followed a successful move in Lakeland to block a bond issue. Late last year, Lakeland officials planned to issue $60 million in bonds for Lakeland Prep — a middle/high school for the district.

Lakeland currently has only one school, Lakeland Elementary.

The Board of Commissioners endorsed a 55-cent property tax increase to cover the bond issue.

A group of citizens gathered enough signatures over the Christmas holidays to force the bond issue to a referendum. On April 16, the bonds were overwhelmingly rejected by Lakeland voters.

If a Collierville petition is filed, the Election Commission has 15 days to certify the signatures.