Tax rate on ballot; no change asked

The Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special school districts aren’t proposing changes in their school property-tax rates this year. But voters will see tax-rate questions this month on their school election ballots in the three districts.

Article 14, Section 3 of the Arkansas Constitution requires school districts across the state to annually include school tax rates on the ballot. If a district proposes no change in its tax rate, then residents vote on the current tax rate.

In that case, no matter how the vote turns out, the school millage rates will remain at current levels.

The school tax rate in the Little Rock School District will remain at 46.4 mills.

The North Little Rock School District tax rate will remain at 48.3 mills, which is the rate voters approved in a Feb- ruary 2012 special election on a proposed 7.4 mill tax increase.

In the Pulaski County Special School District, the school tax rate will continue at 40.7 mills.

Although the voting outcome won’t change the districts’ school tax rates this year, votes on those tax rates are sometimes viewed as a gauge of public support or dissatisfaction with a school system.

Voters who want to vote on the millage rates in any of the three Pulaski County districts but don’t have a contested school board race in their election zone must vote on the millage questions during early voting, which will be Tuesday-Friday and Sept. 16 in the Pulaski County Regional Building, 501 W. Markham St., Little Rock.

Polling places will not be open Sept. 17 anywhere in the Pulaski County Special School District because there is no school board in the state-controlled district and hence no school board elections.

Polling places will be open Sept. 17 only in Little Rock’s School Board election Zones 2 and 6, and in North Little Rock School Board election Zone 4.