PINE BLUFF, Ark. — A special election in Pine Bluff next week will decide if there should be a millage increase to support a new high school building.
It's a topic Pine Bluff residents are passionate about, no matter what side of the vote they fall on.
On Wednesday, the limited school board held a community meeting to clarify the proposed millage increase and what the product would look like.
"This plan not only has 116,000 square feet of academic space, but it has a CTE wing, safe rooms that are now required, a 900-seat auditorium," Pine Bluff Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree said. "There's so much to the building."
Teachers and parents at the meeting shared their opinion on how the city is overdue for a new school.
"We have so many different things that our kids cannot access because we don't have the resources available," said Kendria Jones, a Pine Bluff Junior High School teacher. "Now, we have the opportunity to give them these resources."
But for some, the timing of a vote, while the district is still under state control, felt rushed amid fears of consolidation.
"We're not opposed to building a new school," said Charliene Wright, an Our Pine Bluff School District Committee member. "That's not what we're seeing. We're seeing it as untimely because we are under state control."
Barbaree said the state's partnership's funding for the new school expires in 2024, so a vote needs to happen soon to keep a scheduled timeline.
"Our expectation is that we would be given full local control in September of 2023," Barbaree said. "We need taxpayers' help with this."
Election day for the millage vote is on Aug. 8.