Tuesday marks another special election in the Twin Lakes Area. Registered voters in the Mountain Home School District will be asked to decide on a proposed increase of 2 1/4 mills. If approved, funds would go toward a construction and renovation project at Mountain Home High School Career Academies.
The last special election held for the school district was in April of 2008 when the voters narrowly approved a millage increase to fund the construction of Hackler Intermediate School. A total of 3,232 voted in favor of the measure, and 3,162 were against it. This came less than seven months after the regular school election in September 2007, when 2,118 voted in favor of a millage increase and 3,800 opposed.
Baxter County and Circuit Clerk Canda Reese says projections show the turnout for Tuesday’s election will probably not be as high.
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Since this conversation with Reese, the total of early ballots cast was 1,656.
Baxter County has held other special elections since that time. In March of last year, voters in the city of Mountain Home approved a quarter-cent sales tax for operation and maintenance of a new community center and aquatic facility with 835 votes in favor and 737 votes against. They also approved a half-cent sales tax that will sunset after funding bonds for the construction of the project, with 807 votes in favor and 760 in opposition.
In September 2017, voters throughout the county approved, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, two sales tax increases. A temporary one-percent tax to fund the expansion of the Baxter County Detention Center ended up with 2,862 yes votes and 1,236 no votes. A permanent quarter-cent tax to fund the maintenance and operation of the jail had 2,738 votes in favor and 1,322 against.
Reese says when comparing this election to those two most recent elections, it’s difficult to tell if there’s a trend of an increase or a decrease in turnout.
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For Tuesday’s election, voters in the Mountain Home School District can vote at the following locations:
-Baxter County Courthouse, 1 East Seventh Street, Mountain Home
-Baxter County Election Commission Headquarters, 213 East Fifth Street, Mountain Home
-Baxter County Safety Training Center, 170 Dillard Drive, Midway
-East Side Baptist Church, 718 East Ninth Street, Mountain Home
-Henderson Fire Station, 12487 U.S. Highway 62 East
-Lloyd Travis Municipal Center, 14 Skyles Lane, Lakeview
-Northeast Lakeside Fire Station, 5482 U.S. Highway 62 East, Mountain Home and
A portion of the district is also in Marion County. Another polling location will be open at the Oakland-Promise Land Fire Department.
The polls will open at 7:30 in the morning and close at 7:30 in the evening. Tune in starting around 7:30 Tuesday evening for coverage of the results on KTLO-FM 97.9, Classic Hits 101.7, 99.7 The Boot and KTLO-AM 1240. We will also have the results available on ktlo.com.
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