Jackson residents strongly approve $65M in school borrowing
Published 1:25 pm Wednesday, August 8, 2018
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Residents in Mississippi’s capital city are overwhelmingly approving a $65 million bond referendum that supporters say will provide funds to make repairs to the Jackson school district’s aging facilities.
More than 85 percent of voters on Tuesday favored the borrowing, easily clearing the 60 percent threshold required in bond votes.
Voters reauthorized 5 mills in property taxes for additional capital improvements that would have otherwise expired. That’s $50 for every $100,000 in assessed values. The school district, Mississippi’s second largest, has the state’s highest property tax rate.
District officials say they plan to use some of the money to fix disrepair cited by the state when it sought to take over the district in 2017. Such repairs could help the district improve its state accreditation status.