PINE BLUFF -- For the first time in two years, the Dollarway School District is preparing to elect a school board.

The district has been under state control since June 2012 after the Arkansas Board of Education concluded it had violated state accreditation standards, but the board voted unanimously last month to release control after seeing improvements.

The state officially will hand over the district Oct. 1.

Violations included failing to ensure that all teachers held proper state licenses and inaccurate record-keeping in regard to student transcripts, putting some students in jeopardy of not graduating on time.

State officials reported that the district committed no violations of state accreditation standards in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years.

The filing period for the election will end Tuesday, and school election day is Sept. 16.

Seven seats will be up for grabs in Dollarway, although the terms of those seats won't be set until the full board is elected, said Kimberly Friedman, director of communications for the Arkansas Department of Education.

"The newly formed board will make those decisions," she said. "One method would be for them to draw lots for staggered terms."

Former Dollarway School Board member Gene Stewart said the district has the potential to be one of the best small school districts in southeast Arkansas, if not the state.

He also praised the work of Bobby Acklin, who is in his second year as Dollarway's state-appointed superintendent.

"I really think this superintendent has good intentions and good thoughts, and it looks to me like he is the kind of person you can work with," said Stewart, who served on the board from 2005 until the state takeover and plans to run again. "Dollarway can be a good school [district], there is no doubt about it. I don't know of any small school with a better location, number of students and history."

Acklin said he hopes to continue the job after the district is returned to local control. He said when the state board announced its decision, a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders.

"It was a great moment, not only for me and our community, but especially for our students," Acklin said. "I was not surprised, but I was more hoping than expecting this outcome. Now, it's up to us to prove to [the state] that we can maintain the effort that has been put forth."

Although the district will soon be back under local control, Dollarway High was recently named as a school in academic distress because fewer than half of its students scored proficient or better on state exams in recent years.

A district with a school in academic distress is in jeopardy of a state takeover if corrections are not made. State board member Diane Zook of Melbourne questioned whether the state would be treating Dollarway and Acklin like yo-yos if it were to release the district and then take it over again for academic distress.

Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell said the state lacks the legal authority to retain control of a district that has corrected its accreditation violations.

During his tenure, Acklin said he has taken steps to ensure that Dollarway's teachers "have nothing but the best interests of our students as a top priority," adding "We are going to keep our records and transcripts up to the standards they need to be at.

"I have every intention to monitor these things as closely now as I did when we were in state takeover."

State Desk on 07/07/2014