Bentonville School Board To Consider Millage Rollback
Last updated Sunday, November 18, 2007 3:39 PM CST in News
By Lana F. Flowers
THE MORNING NEWS
BENTONVILLE -- The value of assessed property in the Bentonville School District has increased, meaning home and business owners will see a slight millage reduction.
The Bentonville School Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. today at the School Administration Building at 500 Tiger Blvd. in Bentonville. The meeting is open to the public.
The School Board will consider rolling back millage rates, which usually happens each year because of Amendment 59 to the Arkansas Constitution. The amendment states taxes cannot increase by more than 10 percent from the previous year, excluding newly discovered or constructed properties.
The Bentonville district millage is to be reduced 0.2 mills, from 40.3 mills to 40.1 mills. This is the district's fourth millage rollback since 2003, said Sterling Ming, district finance director.
A mill is one-tenth of a cent. Each mill produces $1 of tax for each $1,000 of assessed valuation on property. A property's assessed value is 20 percent of its appraised value.
However, the millage rollback does not mean the school district will get less money. The tax base broadens as property values increase, meaning the district will get more money.
Ming said in a memo to the board that the district's total property assessment is $1.49 billion, an increase of $228.8 million.
The School Board also will consider a new contract with Hight Jackson Associates to provide architectural services to the district.
The architectural firm worked with a patron task force that met throughout the year and recommended several new schools and upgrades to existing buildings.
The board likely will ask voters for a millage increase next spring to fund those buildings, which include:
* Six new school buildings to accommodate 5 percent enrollment growth through 2015, including a second high school.
* $7.14 million to upgrade older school buildings.
In other business today, the board is expected to hear patron comments from Jim Parsons of the Bella Vista Patriots. Parsons said he will challenge materials and specifications of Cooper Elementary School, which opened to Bella Vista students in August.
Bella Vista is an incorporated city but portions of it are included in the Bentonville School District.
AT A GLANCE
Bentonville School Millage
Assessed District
Year Millage Property Value Collections
2003 41.5 $789.3 million $32.75 million
2004 41.3 $888.2 million $36.68 million
2005 40.8 $1.14 billion $46.51 million
2006 40.3 $1.27 billion *$51.18 million
2007 40.1 $1.5 billion *$60.15 million
* Asterisk denotes estimate.
School districts typically do not collect all the property tax money expected in one year because of delinquent tax payments and tax reductions by the county equalization board. Property owners pay taxes in October of each year for property owned the previous year.
Source: Bentonville School District
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