The state Board of Education on Thursday named a committee that will review and select an interim school board, if voters in September approve the creation of a Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District.
The Education Board in March authorized a rare election on establishing a new public school district after receiving a petition signed by 2,079 Jacksonville-area residents in support of the measure. Just before the authorization, a federal judge presiding over the Pulaski County school desegregation lawsuit said in January that a new district was permissible, as long as organizers abide by state laws.
The proposed area for the 4,000-student public school district includes land within the Jacksonville city limits, along with land north and southeast of the city.
Ten schools, including North Pulaski and Jacksonville high schools, are within those boundaries set by the Pulaski County Special School District School Board in July 2009. Only people living in the proposed area can vote to detach from the county district, which excludes Sherwood, Maumelle and Wrightsville residents.
If the voters approve of a separate district -- for which, so far, there is no organized opposition -- the Education Board will order the district's creation and appoint a seven-member interim school board for it.
"We're sort of being very optimistic that the election scheduled for September will be successful, and then there will be some very short time frames involved," Education Board Chairman Sam Ledbetter said of the board's action Thursday.
The board unanimously approved the appointments to the review committee. Education Board member Vicki Saviers was not present.
The committee members are: state Rep. Mark Perry, D-Jacksonville; state Rep. Doug House, R-North Little Rock; state Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock; state Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot; state Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock; Pulaski County District 11 Justice of the Peace Bob Johnson; and Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher.
The committee will review all applications for the interim school board and eventually will provide to the Education Board its appointee recommendations. Those appointees will serve until a school election is held.
The Education Board will make interim school board applications available on its website and will soon make paper copies available, after the review committee approves them. Education Commissioner Tony Wood said he hopes to have the interim school board in place by November.
Education Board member Mireya Reith noted that the review committee was made up of elected officials and asked if there was anyone to represent the schools or the community.
"That was by design," Wood said. "The rationale is that the people chose them in these respective roles and had confidence in their guidance and judgment."
Gwendolyn Harper -- who is with the Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District Education Corps and is the president of the NAACP in Jacksonville -- told the Education Board that the effort to have a local school district is decades-long and has gained a lot of traction.
"The main thing that we're interested in is we're able to give education to children taking into consideration all things -- diversity, income -- everything a child needs to get ready to enter the workforce," she said.
Rizelle Aaron, a leader in the local NAACP, said he was concerned that when residents begin voting for school board candidates, board diversity will be lost.
"Everyone votes for every zone," he said. "The interim board should be diverse because it may likely be the only diverse board that gets appointed. The elected board may not be as diverse."
Some Education Board members expressed similar diversity concerns.
Initially the interim school board members will fill at-large positions rather than zoned positions, Education Board member Jay Barth said.
"It would be prudent to reflect geographical diversity and other diversity," he said, asking if it was OK to "prod" the review committee to be aware of that as it makes selections for the interim board.
Ledbetter said he hoped the interim school board members, who would be responsible for setting election zones, would file for election to the seats.
"We ultimately will approve the interim board," the chairman said. "I think you can be assured that that will be a consideration when that comes back to us."
Metro on 08/15/2014