To: Arkansas Board of Education, Cc: West Memphis & Marion School Boards

It has come to our attention that residents of West Memphis are subsidizing the Marion School District at the expense of the students in the West Memphis School District.  Residents and business that are located north of Dover Road—which is in West Memphis—are included in the Marion School District.  We believe that the millage collected from these homes and business rightfully belongs to the residents of West Memphis and the children of the West Memphis School District. From What we can gather; although we’ve found nothing in writing, these current lines haven’t been changed in more than (60) sixty years<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

     Because West Memphis city property is currently included in the Marion School District’s boundary, we ask that you redraw the line so that the West Memphis School District’s boundaries would correspond to the West Memphis city boundaries.  We also ask that the millage collected by the Marion School District from within the West Memphis city limits be repaid over time to the West Memphis School District.  We ask that you place urgent attention on this matter. Furthermore, we shall make ourselves available for discussion on this matter.

     Your actions on this matter are of great importance to the welfare of the children of the West Memphis School District who can benefit from increased capital expenditures, better learning facilities, more spending on educational materials, and ultimately improved educational outcomes.  The children in the Marion School District have benefitted greatly from this millage subsidy.  We believe that children in the West Memphis School District deserve to have the benefits of the millage collected from residents and business within the West Memphis city boundary.

Sincerely,