Lawmakers Search for Ways to Fund School Repairs

Arkansas voters may have said "No" to a referendum that would have raised property taxes to pay for decaying schools this week, but as required by the state Supreme Court`s Lake View decision, those schools will still have to be repaired, one way or another. This month, legislators will know how much money it will take to fix those schools. But down the line, they`ll have to figure out where that money will come from, and it`s probably another job for the coming session. Inside the historic Little Rock Central High School, $12 million in repairs are underway. "All the teachers who would be housed in these classroom are out in portable buildings in the back of the school," said principal Nancy Rousseau. But the classroom repairs are paid for under a local millage. "When this is all through, there`s still major areas of the school that need work, that are not covered," she said. Rousseau said a statewide property tax increase could have helped fund more. "I`m just diappointed it didn`t pass," said Rousseau. "I don`t think a lot of us were counting on that proposal to pass," said state Sen. Shane Broadway, (D) Bryant. Since Arkansas voters didn`t pass higher property taxes, Arkansas lawmakers are looking for other options -- and making sure their $9 million facility study is put to good use. "We`re also trying to be creative," said Broadway. "We`re looking at lease/purchase where a private entity builds it and the school leases it and eventually owns it." Another option could include communities and schools sharing the cost and the school building. "What the dollar figure will be is one thing we won`t know until November. What the state`s share will be, we`re trying to sort through now," he said. Lawmakers and educators have their assignment: to make sure kids have a better place to work on their own. "If we`re gonna keep our schools open, keep our schools operating, and keep the level of excellence where it needs to be, then we need money to keep the infrastructure sound," said Rousseau. Thursday, the facility committee released a draft report of the study. Co-chair Sen. Shane Broadway says the final report will be released at the end of November.