On control of Little Rock's schools, words fly; state board hears views for 2 hours

An Arkansas Board of Education agenda item on the future of the state-controlled Little Rock School District resulted in a sometimes emotional two-hour exchange of views between board members, Education Commissioner Johnny Key and a legislator.

Education Board member Jay Barth of Little Rock initially placed the Little Rock district on the Education Board's Thursday agenda in hopes of setting a date for the release of Arkansas' largest school system from state control, but, in the days leading up to the meeting, he was unable to reach agreement with Key on any specific date.

In the end Thursday, the board voted 5-0 to ask that the Arkansas Department of Education staff and Little Rock Superintendent Mike Poore "make sure that the community is aware of what is going on in the schools and the plan to get out of academic distress," and for the board to hold a work session on how a new school accountability law will affect district efforts to be returned to the direction of a locally elected school board.

Board member Diane Zook of Melbourne made the motion.

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The Education Board voted 5-4 in January 2015 to take control of the district by removing the school board and putting the superintendent under the direction of the state education commissioner because six of the district's 48 schools had been labeled as being in academic distress for three years of poor performance on state math and literacy tests. Three of those schools have since been removed from the list of academically distressed schools.

Barth said that a date for release of the district from state control could help mend the divisions that have escalated in the district, where voters will go to the polls May 9 to vote on the proposed 14-year extension of a 12.4 mill property tax.

If approved, the extension of the tax from 2033 to 2047 would enable the district to immediately raise about $160 million. District leaders have said that would be used for the construction of a new high school in southwest Little Rock, the replacement of the existing McClellan High building and updates at most other campuses. Opponents to the tax extension have said the measure amounts to taxation without representation and they don't trust Key -- who acts in place of the district's school board -- to use the money as proposed.

Key said Thursday that he and the state agency "are absolutely committed to returning the Little Rock district to local control" and that the new Act 930 provides the department with more tools for an expedited, methodical process for doing that.

The act -- which doesn't go into effect until August and requires the writing of rules for carrying out the law -- replaces the state's current system of categorizing struggling schools as academically distressed with a Level 1 through 5 labeling system that prescribes different degrees of state involvement in a school or district. Schools and districts now under state control would move to a Level 5 classification, and a transitional support plan must be developed for the schools.

Current state law states that all schools in academic distress must be removed from distress before the Education Department can recommend to the Education Board that a district be removed from state control. The new law doesn't contain that language.

Also a factor is the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act that requires schools and districts to have improvement plans. It also calls for states to address the needs and support its lowest-achieving schools and districts. The state is in the process of drafting its plan for complying with the new federal law. That plan is due to the U.S. Department of Education in September.

Key said results of this spring's ACT Aspire student-test results and other student-success measures will feed into the Level 5 school transition plans that will be presented to the state Education Board in the fall.

"At that point the board will have a comprehensive picture of what is going on in those districts based on the most recent data and some new data we have not had before," Key said. "You will be able to give us thoughts on how to move forward with these districts."

Key also addressed the matter of the election and the distrust about how the money might be used.

"You all have been here under much of the time when we had Helena-West Helena under state control and Pulaski County Special School District under state control, and I'll just remind you that during that time we had bond refinancing that took place -- none that went to the voters -- but significant dollars that were recouped by re-funding and refinancing bonds. We worked with those districts so they could use the funds for their intended purposes," and he cited new schools being built in those districts.

"Same thing with LRSD," Key said. "Mr. Poore and his team have identified a list of projects and ... it is the department and the commissioner's commitment that those projects will be funded according to the list they have produced based on their needs."

Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, objected to waiting for the new Act 930 to be operational, saying that the state Education Board has the authority under current law to release the Little Rock district from state control.

"It is not fair. It is not right," she said about the state's largest school district having no voice in how it's operated. She asked how the state can defend state control of a district in which 94 percent of its schools are not labeled as academically distressed.

Education Board Chairman Mireya Reith of Fayetteville choked back tears as she pleaded with the Education Board and the Education Department staff to identify concrete steps toward the release of the district. She said she fears her name will be forever tied to structural racism in regard to the Little Rock district. She also said she didn't believe the board did anything wrong intentionally but is making decisions throughout a life lens that is not the same as that of others.

Board member Charisse Dean of Little Rock said she is committed to returning the district to local control as soon as possible, but only when the district is in a position to succeed and benefit children. She compared the district's situation to that of her young son who broke his arm and couldn't return to outdoor play until he was no longer susceptible to further injury.

Metro on 04/14/2017

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