District's merger debated

Judge to decide on Hughes order

FORREST CITY -- A judge will determine the fate of the Hughes School District after hearing arguments Monday from attorneys from the Arkansas Board of Education and the school district in a hearing at the St. Francis County Courthouse.

The district is fighting an involuntary incorporation order from the Education Board that is set to go into effect July 1. Unless the judge stops it, the Hughes School District will fold into the West Memphis school system.

Hughes is facing the action because its enrollment has fallen under the 350-student minimum for operating a district, forcing either a voluntary or involuntary merger with another district as required by Act 60 of 2003.

In front of a crowd of about 115 parents and other supporters of the Hughes district, attorney James Valley argued that Hughes had not dropped below 350 students for the 2013-14 school year, was not in fiscal distress and that closing the school district would hurt a community where 100 percent of the students are eligible for free lunches.

Kendra Clay, an attorney for the Arkansas Department of Education, argued that the district had indeed fallen under the 350-student mark.

In April, the Hughes district unsuccessfully petitioned for a one-year state waiver of the forced consolidation on the basis of Act 377 passed during the recent legislative session. The waiver was denied because the district was labeled as being in "fiscal distress."

Valley argued Monday that "fiscal distress" is an undefined term in state law and the school district had attempted to get the label removed but had been unsuccessful. Valley argued that was in part because the process for getting the label removed is unclear.

The state Board of Education deemed that Hughes was in fiscal distress because of problems found by state auditing.

Valley wrote in the petition on behalf of the Hughes district that since April 8, 2013, the Western Yell County School District, Brinkley School District, Drew Central School District, Alpena School District and Hermitage School District have all been released from fiscal distress status, with only Drew Central School District having a "clean audit."

Clay responded that some of those school districts had been let out of fiscal distress without a clean audit because they had been given the label for reasons other than an audit and that the district was not "comparing apples to apples" when it brought up the other districts.

Judge Richard Proctor praised arguments from both sides and said he would consider both. Officials involved in the case expect a ruling before the July 1 deadline.

Clay declined to comment after the hearing and directed questions to the Education Department.

"We are confident in the case that was presented, but we won't comment further before the judge renders his decision," Education Department spokesman Kimberly Friedman said in an emailed statement.

Supporters of the Hughes School District arrived in a yellow school bus and drove their own cars to stand outside the courthouse holding signs protesting the consolidation before filling the courtroom during the hearing.

At the beginning of the hearing, the Hughes supporters in the audience clapped for Valley before Proctor warned that such behavior would not be allowed in the courtroom.

"It's about real people who are going to be impacted in a real way," Valley said. "And most of those people are going to be children."

Valley said after the hearing that he thought the district made the best argument possible and now it will be up to the judge to decide the outcome. But he said he hopes Proctor will decide to keep the district open because closing it is "going to hurt that city in ways we can't measure."

Denise Jones has lived in Hughes for 43 years, and all three of her daughters attended Hughes district schools. She went to Monday's hearing, she said, because she's concerned the consolidation will make life more difficult for children and parents in her community. West Memphis and Hughes are about 28 miles apart.

"They were born right here in Hughes," Jones said. "They need to stay right here in Hughes."

Metro on 06/09/2015

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