The Bentonville School District is turning to voters to figure out how it can pay for a second high school or other expansions to the district.
Administrators sent out a new survey this week that asks the community under what conditions they would vote for a millage increase. Some options include removing athletic funding from a request or building a smaller high school, said district spokesperson Mary Ley.
Voters overwhelmingly voted against a millage increase proposal, 58 percent to 42 percent, in June that would have paid for a new 2,000-student high school campus in Centerton, as well as other district improvements.
The new survey was sent to the 8,814 voters who casted ballots in the failed millage election.
The Bentonville School District has seen major growth in recent years, including at its overcrowded high school, which now enrolls about 4,000 students.
“We need a solution now,” Ley said.
If administrators want a solution that matches the needs of the district, they need to quickly figure out what kind of expansion taxpayers would be willing to pay for, Ley said.
