Residents across the Twin Lakes Area will be going to the voting booth Tuesday for the midterm general election, but those living in the Norfork School District are being asked to return to the polls in nearly four months. The district will hold a special election March 12th to ask the voters for a three-mill increase.
A budget shortfall is the reason why a millage increase is being sought. Norfork’s ending balance has declined $200,000 over the last two years and $650,000 over the last ten. Superintendent Mike Seay says he and the school board have been working over the last few months on solutions for curbing the decline.
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Norfork School District’s rate currently stands at 34.39 mills. That’s below the state average of 38.33 mills. In the 17 years Seay has served as superintendent, Norfork has had one millage increase and one rollback. He says he believes this proposed increase is necessary for the district to continue providing a quality education.
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It was reported in early spring U.S. Census Bureau documents show Baxter County’s population declined 4/10 of a percent from 2010 to 2017. When asked if that had any correlation with the student decline at Norfork, Seay said that was not easy to determine, but he knows other local districts are experiencing similar issues.
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The Norfork School District has scheduled a pair of town hall meetings for the next two Thursdays to get information on the proposal to the public. The first will be this Thursday evening at 6:00 at the Salesville City Hall, and the second meeting is set for November 15th at 6:30 in the Norfork High School library. For more information, contact Norfork School District at 870-499-5228.
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