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VIDALIA — Concordia Parish residents have until 8 p.m. today to go to the polls to vote on the renewal of the Concordia Parish school tax.

The annual 25 mil tax generates approximately $3.5 million annually for the school system and is used to support operations, construction, maintenance as well as fund teacher and school district employees’ salaries.

The Concordia Parish School Board has shared digital flyers on social media reminding people to vote “yes” to the ballot initiative. However, there haven’t been many people lining up to vote, according to election workers.

Katherine Mize said 19 people in the Concordia Parish Courthouse precinct voted in-person as of 2 p.m. Saturday.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office, 12,636 people in the parish are registered to vote in the election. As of Friday, a total of 59 early votes had been cast and 151 absentee ballots had been received before a 4:30 p.m. deadline, with the exception of military or overseas voters.

The school district’s ballot proposition reads as follows:

“Shall School District No. 10 of the Parish of Concordia, State of Louisiana (the “District”), continue to levy a special tax of twenty-five (25) mills on all the property subject to taxation in the District (an estimated $3,580,000 reasonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of the tax for an entire year), for a period of ten (10) years, beginning with the year 2023 and ending with the year 2032, for the purpose of giving additional support for constructing, improving, maintaining and operating public schools and school related facilities in the District, including payment of salaries of teachers and other school system employees?”