Panel works to tap construction cash
The School Board for the Pulaski County Special School District at a special meeting last week took the next steps to access $80,754,000 for new construction projects.
The board approved the sale of two sets of bonds, one taxable for $21,675,000, and the other tax-exempt for $108,750,000.
Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. offered the lowest interest rates on both sets, with 2.668436% on the taxable bonds and 2.407125% on the tax-exempt bonds.
The district plans to use the proceeds from the bond issues to pay off bond debt from 2012, 2016 and 2017, and for projects that include a $15 million arena at Mills University Studies High, a $35 million expansion of Robinson High School, $11 million in athletic facilities at Maumelle High School, a $5 million expansion of Baker Elementary and $3 million upgrades at each of the College Station Elementary and Harris Elementary campuses.
The bond issues come in the aftermath of a Nov. 2 election in which district voters approved the proposal to restructure existing debt and issue new bonds -- financed by the district's 14.8 debt service mill rate -- without extending the levy of the current 14.8 debt service tax mills beyond their 2048 expiration date.
The plan received 64% voter approval.
Little Rock School District board favors Juneteenth revelry
The Little Rock School Board voted 8-0 Thursday night in support of a resolution commemorating "Juneteenth as a day to celebrate and emphasize a collective call to action against injustice of any kind."
The resolution encourages district employees, students and families to celebrate Juneteenth as a day to honor and reflect on the role of Black Americans in the history of the nation.
Juneteenth is a federal holiday that commemorates the 1865 end to slavery in the United States.
Additionally, the board voted 8-0 in support of a proclamation by Superintendent Mike Poore and now former School Board President Vicki Hatter that makes Jan. 18, 2022, a national day of racial healing in the Little Rock school system.
Williams exiting charter position
Naccaman Williams of Springdale announced last week that he is resigning from the state's Charter Authorizing Panel where he has served since August 2017 and, as such, is one of the current panel's longest continually serving members.
Previously Williams was a member of the Arkansas Board of Education for seven years.
The charter panel reviews and votes on charter school applications, renewals and amendments. Its decisions are reviewed and finalized by the Education Board.
Williams, a former math teacher and a longtime employee for the Walton Family Foundation in Bentonville, said at the beginning of a two-day panel meeting that his decision was prompted by a desire to spend more time with family and his recent appointment to the Rockefeller Foundation Board.
Deborah Coffman, assistant commissioner for public school accountability and chairman of the Charter Authorizing Panel, called Williams "an amazing public servant."
Johnston leaving state charter job
Tim Johnston, who is the charter school coordinator for the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, is leaving the position he has held since earlier this year to be associate director of the state's Division of Career and Technical Education.
Matthew Sutherlin, coordinator of special programs for the Elementary and Secondary Education division, is assuming the responsibilities of the charter school coordinator.