In 1966, voters in Warren County went to the ballot box and approved a bond to support the then county school system. Tuesday, voters will have the first chance since to voice their opinion either for or against a capital improvement bond for the local school district.

The election Tuesday will decide whether the Vicksburg Warren School District will be able move forward with its planned $131.5 million facilities upgrade plan that will include renovations at each of the district’s 13 schools including major expansions at Vicksburg and Warren Central high schools and the construction of a new Academy of Innovation.

The proposed bond referendum will fund $83 million of the project. The remaining $48.5 million will be funded using debt service in the current budget that will soon be rolling off the books stemming from the construction of Sherman Avenue and Dana Road in 1999.

The bond referendum would be funded by an additional 7.9 mils on top of the schools district’s current millage rate of 53.91 mils. The Warren County Board of Supervisors sets the millage rate based on the school district’s requested funding amount. 

Warren County tax assessor Ben Luckett said the 7.9 mils would raise a projected $4.8 million based on the current assessed property values in Warren County. The current millage rate raised $32.8 million for the school district.

Whereas the school district in Warren County has not held a bond referendum election since 1966, the Clinton, Rankin County and Hinds County school districts have each asked for and passed multiple bond referendums since 2000.

Voters in Rankin County passed a $178.5 million bond with 73.81 percent voting in favor of the bond in March 2017. The passage of the bond led to a 5-mil increase on property taxes for residents in the Rankin County School District.

The bond will pay for additions and renovations at 11 schools, multiple reroofing projects and more projects throughout the district.

Voters in Rankin County also approved a $69 million bond in 2001.

In Hinds County, 85 percent of voters approved a $59.9 million bond in August 2017 to fund 55 projects throughout the district including renovations and the construction of new gyms and performing arts centers.

Hinds County School District Chief Financial Officer Earl Burke said the bond will be funded as the debt service from a previous bond rolls off the books.

The previous bond was passed in 2003. The $21.5 million bond paid for the construction of three schools including a new elementary school and two buildings that turned existing kindergarten through fifth grade schools into kindergarten through eight grade schools. Burke said that bond passed with less than 70 percent of the vote after failing the first time it was brought up.

Voters in Clinton have also recently passed two facilities bonds to support the school system. In 2010, a $23.5 million bond passed with 86.5 percent of the vote to fund the construction of an elementary school and renovations at the junior high. Clinton voters had previously passed a bond for the construction of a new elementary school that opened in 2008 and the new football stadium at Clinton High School.

District spokesperson Sandi Beason said the school board is considering bringing another bond referendum to the voters as the district is “bursting at the seams” following 10 consecutive years of increased enrollment.

Voters in Pearl also recently approved a bond referendum with 84 percent of the vote and Oxford voters approved a $38 million bond with 80 percent of the vote in September.