School officials at Buffalo Island Central are asking for a millage increase that would last for 30 years. The proposal would raise the millage from 33 to 42 mills. Superintendent Gaylon Taylor tells KAIT the increase would fund a $19.5 million dollar school that would combine the four campuses of the district into one facility, serving Pre-K through 12th grade. Taylor says the state-of-the-art building would replace the aging buildings that are at least 50 years old. The new building would be the exact same distance from Leachville and Monette on Highway 18 at the Mississippi/Craighead county lines. Public meetings on the proposed increase have been held. Leachville residents attended one last night to learn more about the proposal. Those who are against the proposal state many are on a fixed income and cannot afford higher taxes. One resident stated that some residents are already having to choose between medicine and food, and that higher taxes would make it more difficult to live. Buffalo Island Central administrators are expected to hold another public meeting in Monette Tuesday night. The vote on the issue takes place September 16th.
Johnathan Reaves is the News Director for KASU Public Radio. As part of an Air Force Family, he moved to Arkansas from Minot, North Dakota in 1986. He was first bitten by the radio bug after he graduated from Gosnell High School in 1992. While working on his undergraduate degree, he worked at KOSE, a small 1,000 watt AM commercial station in Osceola, Arkansas. Upon graduation from Arkansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Radio-Television Broadcast News, he decided that he wanted to stay in radio news. He moved to Stuttgart, Arkansas and worked for East Arkansas Broadcasters as news director and was there for 16 years.