Millage Defeat Forces Meeting With State

RISON - The Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Commission is meeting today Cleveland County School District Superintendent Craig Dupuy and School Board President Harrell Wilson today (Wednesday, Sept. 14) in Little Rock to discuss the district’s facilities after a second request for a millage increase was rejected by voters last month. Dupuy told the Cleveland County School Board during its regular monthly meeting Monday night that he and Wilson both received certified letters from the state commission on Aug. 18 notifying them of the conference. The letter stated that, by Arkansas Code 6-21-811, the conference is required after a school district “failed to pass a millage required to fulfill its obligation under the school district’s facilities Master Plan.” Dupuy said the code was activated by the fact that two consecutive millage requests were defeated: a millage election that was held during the May 2021 school board election and the special election held Aug. 9. Both elections were for a 5-mill tax increase. The letter cited the defeat of the millage request on Aug. 9. That millage increase would have funded the construction of a new gym with band and choir rooms, expand the school cafeteria, renovate the interior of Rison Elementary and develop a technology suite in Rison High School. The “Master Plan” referred to in the letter is “a comprehensive six year facility improvement plan that school districts are required by law to complete and keep updated,” according the facilities commission website. The plans are updated and submitted by Feb. 1 of every even num‐bered year. Dupuy said the expansion of the school cafeteria has been included in Cleveland County’s Master Plan, but he could not recall if the gym and elementary renovations were as well. He noted that the projects included in the Master Plan are eligible for partnership funding from the state. ...