CCSB Votes To Move 2025 Election To Consider Options

RISON - The Cleveland County School Board voted Tuesday night to move its annual school election from May to November next year to give the district more time to consider its financial options regarding two projects that have been accepted into the state’s partnership funding program.Meanwhile, the board also approved giving all the district’s contracted employees a $750 on-time “retention payment” that was already included in the budget.In September, Superintendent Davy King announced that the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities & Transportation had notified the district that two construction projects submitted for partnership funding - a new gym complex that includes some classroom space and renovations to Rison Elementary - had been accepted in the partnership funding program.Under the partnership program, school districts receive a portion of the construction projects based on the district’s “wealth index,” which is essentially a formula that measures a school district’s ability to raise funds on its own. The Cleveland County School District would receive 75 percent of the construction cost for a project.However, King noted during the September meeting that approval into the program does not mean the projects will automatically be funded. The state considers all the projects accepted into the partnership program, and then decides which of the projects submitted will be funded.  That decision will not be revealed until May.The school board recently held a financial workshop with Jason Holsclaw of Stephens, Inc., the district’s financial manager, to consider its options should the school board ultimately decide to pursue funding the projects.If the district does ultimately decides to move forward with the elementary renovations and gym, the district would still need money to cover its portion of the cost. That would require a possible combination of restructuring the distric...