7-mill tax increase OK’d for schools

MONETTE — Patrons of the Buffalo Island Central School District in Craighead and Mississippi counties approved during a special election Tuesday a 7-mill tax increase that will be used to build new schools.

Complete but unofficial results were: For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669 Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

“We’re ecstatic,” Superintendent Gaylon Taylor said. “Our voters realized this was for the future of our children.”

Plans call for construction of a kindergarten and elementary school in Leachville in Mississippi County and a junior and senior high school in Monette in Craighead County. Taylor said it will cost about $18 million to build the facilities. School buildings in both towns are more than 50 years old, Taylor said.

Voters turned down a proposed 9-mill increase in May that would have funded about $19.9 million in construction projects. That plan included a 10,000-square-foot auditorium.

For Tuesday’s passage, Taylor credited support from area mayors and voters understanding the need for the new facilities. The millage rate will increase from 33 mills to 40 mills, he said.