CMS to seek millage increase
The Cutter Morning Star School District plans to pursue a millage increase of 8.4 new debt service mills and the extension of 15.5 existing mills for the construction of a new high school and basketball gymnasium.
The district will ask voters in the annual school election on Sept. 19 to issue $10.255 million in construction bonds through
2047. The measure will include a request to extend the 15.5 current debt service mills to 2047,
12 years beyond their current expiration date.
The proposed increase would give the district a millage rate of 48.9. Cutter Morning Star current millage of 40.5 ranks third in Garland County behind Hot Springs, 42.1, and Lake Hamilton, 40.6. The state average as of the 2016 election is 37.9 mills.
School board members voted
to pursue the increase during their regular monthly meeting on June 21. The Sentinel-Record published on June 25 the meeting was scheduled for June 28 due to an erroneous notification from the district. Superintendent Nancy Anderson said the mistake was the result of a clerical error.
Anderson said the district is pursuing the increase now after it was approved for a total of more than $6.266 million in funding through the state’s Academic Facilities Partnership Program. The projects and the funding were approved by the Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation.
“We did not want to go to the voters, obviously, until we knew we had the funding secured from the state,” Anderson said.
The district was notified of the approval on May 1. Anderson said the district reapplied in the latest round of funding after it was approved for a smaller area two years prior.
“The way our high school is built, it is built in phases,” Anderson said. “When we went for the partnership funding two years ago, the state department only gave us 50,000 square feet, which was not enough to build a new high school. We went back this last cycle and asked for additional square footage.”
The project includes the construction of a new high school for 307 students in grades 7-12 on property owned by the district next to the current campus. The existing high school would be taken out of service. The total budget for the project is based on a cost factor of $175 per square foot.
Original approval from the state provided more than $5.171 million in partnership funds for
51,211 square feet of the project. The district is eligible for partnership funding for 63,799 square feet after a second approval provided almost $1.1 million for a
12,588-square feet portion of
15,778 square feet of “academic core space.”
The total budget for the project is $14,463,575. Cutter Morning Star would be responsible for
$8,197,493.99. The $10.255 million in construction bonds would be used for constructing and equipping the new high school, as well as constructing, refurbishing, remodeling and equipping other school facilities.
Enrollment at Cutter Morning Star High School averaged
280 students for the past six years. The school averaged more than 350 students during the seven years prior.
Cutter Morning Star Elementary School’s official enrollment was 305 students in the 2016-17 school year and 296 in 2015-16. The school averaged more than
325 students in the 11 previous years with a low of 304 in the
2012-13 school year and a high of
344 in 2009-10.
A new gym will be a significant component of the project. Cutter Morning Star’s current high school gym was built in 1969.
“Our students and the community need a new facility,” Anderson said. “We are very fortunate. We have very strong athletic teams, especially in basketball.”
Anderson said the district faces a number of issues with the current gym, including leaks, the fire alarm system and roofing. She said she has been working with the Arkansas Department of Education to get the building up to code.
“It is so old, it is really hard to get retrofitted material to fit it,” Anderson said. “Everything has to be special ordered.”
The senior high boys’ team advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals this season. The Eagles began the season 28-0 and finished 30-2 after a 62-57 loss to state runner-up Marked Tree at Quitman’s Bulldog Complex.
Recent graduate Chris Babb averaged 21 points per game to lead four seniors in the starting lineup. Babb earned his second all-state selection and was named to the Arkansas Activities Association’s West squad in the state all-star game.
The senior high Lady Eagles finished the season with a 6-19 record.
“We have a lot of strong teams coming up,” Anderson said. “We are highly competitive. We need a gym for our student-athletes and for our community to be able to compete statewide.”
The 8.4-mill increase will increase a resident’s real estate tax by $14 per month and $168 per year in a home with an appraised value of $100,000.
Other millage rates for Garland County public school districts are Jessieville, 38.7; Mountain Pine, 37.9; Lakeside, 37.7; and Fountain Lake, 34.8. Millage rates for other districts in the area include Poyen, 46.7; Arkadelphia, 44.85; Benton, 41.9; Bismarck, 41; Centerpoint, 41; Magnet Cove, 39.18; Malvern, 37.65; and Mount Ida, 34.
Cutter Morning Star’s district enrollment for the 2016-17 school year was 582 students. Districts with similar enrollment include Mountainburg, 638 students, 39.1 mills; Dierks, 587, 43 mills; Rector, 588, 38.49 mills; and Marked Tree, 559 students, 39.5 mills.