Election Commission Certifies Millage Vote

RISON - The official results of  the Cleveland County School District’s millage election held last Tuesday, Nov. 18, show a higher percentage of voters turning out in most precincts and the measure gaining more support in areas where it had previously performed weaker.The Cleveland County Election Commission certified the official results Monday. The final official count was 866 voting for the 6-mill tax increase (68 percent) and 405 (32 percent) against it. Overall, 1,273 of the 2,761 registered voters cast  ballots in the election for a voter turnout of 46.11 percent.The additional 6 mills increases the overall millage rate for the Cleveland County School District to 44.1 mills. Of that, 28 mills is dedicated to maintenance and operations while 16.1 mills is for debt service. In addition to generating about $12 million in construction funds, the additional millage also included paying off some existing debt. Overall, the 16.1 mills for debt service will to be collected until the principal amount of $13.165 million is paid off over 32 years.Last Tuesday’s election was the third time since 2021 that the Cleveland County School District has requested a millage increase to supporting a new gym and make other improvements at the Rison School campus. Both requests were for 5 mills and both were defeated.In May 2021, voters rejected the millage by a 613-501 margin.In August 2022, voters opposed the millage by a 27-vote margin, 562-535.An analysis of the official numbers this week reveals that there was a higher voter turnout in this election compared to the previous two, and a much higher turnout from areas of the district that supported the millage. Where none of the polling sites during the 2022 election had greater than a 49 percent turnout, five precincts had voter turnouts above 50 percent in last week’s election: Rison Outside (57.24 percent), Kingsland Outside (53.58 percent), Bow...