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Re-count confirms millage defeat |
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Friday, 14 March 2008 |
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By Lynda Hollenbeck
Courier Staff A re-count in the Harmony Grove School District millage election votes did not change the outcome: The district’s proposed 2.3 mill increase went down 482-472.
The re-count was approved by the county Election Commission on Thursday morning and conducted Thursday afternoon. Present to observe the process were Haskell Mayor Jeff Arey and Harmony Grove High School Principal Walt Davis.
County Clerk Freddy Burton said the school district will not be required to pay for the re-count.
“We contacted the secretary of state’s office and they checked with their legal counsel,” he said. “We learned that counties do not charge for re-counts involving election issues. There is a charge only when individual candidates request the re-counts.”
The additional mills the district was seeking would have been used to generate about $1 million to help start a football program.
After the re-count was completed, Arey said he believes “good things will come out of this.”
“Obviously, I wanted it to pass, but a lot of people who voted against it have told me that they want to help start a football program,” he said. “They were against the tax, not football.
“This [election and re-count] got the issue out in front of the people and a lot of them want to help us get it started some way. We may have to begin with used equipment and start small as we try to put together some sort of program.”
Arey said he expects to hold a community meeting sometime in the next two weeks to pursue the issue.
“It’s all a good thing,” he added.
According to the totals, 482 voters, or 50.5 percent, voted against the additional mills and 472, or 49.5 percent, voted for the tax. The measure went down in early voting, with 77 votes against it and 19 in favor.
State law prohibits the district from seeking another millage increase this calendar year.
A similar defeat occurred in September 2007 when voters turned down a proposed 2.3 mill increase by a vote of 262-244.
Burton said his office was happy to accommodate the Harmony Grove officials with the re-count. “This was good for their peace of mind, and it was good for us to make sure our equipment is working correctly.”
Before the re-count, Burton said he doubted that the outcome would change. Many Harmony Grove students showed their support for the proposed football program by lining Arkansas 229 Tuesday and holding signs promoting the passage of the millage. Some students played touch football not far from the city’s fire station, which served as the polling location for the special election.
Dale Anderson, who led a grassroots effort in support of the millage increase, said students were trying to promote the school as well as encourage residents to support the millage increase.
“We’re trying to go from a basketball school to hopefully a football school,” said Anderson, a 1987 Harmony Grove graduate.
“We don’t want to be consolidated into Glen Rose or Benton or anything like that,” he said. “We want our school to grow.”
Harmony Grove offers basketball, baseball and softball. The school district has never had a football program and is the only district in the county that does not offer the sport.
If the additional mills had been approved, they would have been used to build a 1,250-seat stadium and a field house and to purchase uniforms, weights, bleachers and related equipment, school officials have said.
Officials also contended that the football program would have given the district an opportunity to showcase its award-winning band and cheer programs.
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