Superintendent's Blog: Safety & Security - What Next?

The question most often asked today following the rejection of our safety and security proposal has been "What happens next?"  

I believe that our safety and security proposal provided for every aspect needed in order to move forward in what's becoming a more challenging society.  Security staffing, renovations, equipment, and ongoing upgrades were all included.  

The most frustrating result of the millage proposal being defeated is the fact that we are already doing so much more with less when compared to other districts of comparable size and programming.  

As a reminder, our district has posted for years ALL of our financial data to ensure transparency on our website.  If you ever have a question or concern about any report included on our website, please let me know.

We have read repeatedly over the past few weeks, and even today, that "Cabot has the highest millage rate in the state."  That is NOT true.  We not only have one of the lowest millage rates, but the amount we generate in revenue for each mill is one of the lowest as well.  

Despite the proposal being defeated, we are committed to doing what is necessary to protect our students and staff.  As we shared, there will be a need to reduce or eliminate existing programs to provide the funding needed to accomplish what was included in our proposal.  

We will be making hard decisions moving forward that will disappoint students, staff, and parents because we must prioritize expenditures for additional safety and security.  There simply will not be enough funding in the future to continue with what we are currently offering AND provide the enhanced safety and security that is absolutely necessary.  

We can not do nothing while waiting on a security proposal in the future that may or may not even become a reality.  There was so much rhetoric in regard to a sales tax being a better plan than the local millage increase that the point was lost that Arkansas already has the third highest average rate of state and local sales tax in the United States (https://taxfoundation.org/state-and-local-sales-tax-rates-2018/). The millage provided local control with transparency and I'm disappointed that we are not moving forward today with full implementation of the proposal knowing that it isn't a guarantee that an alternate proposal would be successful based on the facts.   

Our administrators will be working with Officers Jackson and Roper to develop specifics for the upcoming year.  We will determine the cost and make those recommendations to our school board.  Specifics can not be provided until we determine how much funding will be needed to cover the safety and security improvements.  

When it comes right down to it, our assurance is that we will continue to focus on providing a quality academic program for all students in a safe and secure learning environment.