Friday, May 08, 2015

TOP STORY >> PCSSD voting on tax

A 5.6-mill increase goes before voters in the Pulaski County Special School District on Tuesday.

Patrons of the new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District still under the PCSSD umbrella will not vote on or pay the millage hike if it passes.

The increase would fund $61 million in improvements to Sherwood schools, with $51 million of that going toward the expansion and updating of Sylvan Hills High School.

A total of $221 million in district-wide facility projects are planned.

The increase would equate to about $10 a month for the owner of a $100,000 home.

Supporters say the increase will also pave the way for Sherwood to have its own district because PCSSD must be released from federal court oversight and declared unitary — desegregated — before Sherwood can detach.

Facilities are one area in which PCSSD is not yet unitary.