8 districts exit fiscal distress

The Arkansas Board of Education on Monday removed eight school districts from its fiscal distress program after the school systems took steps to replenish what had been rapidly dwindling financial reserves.

The newly released districts are Concord, Gentry, Hartford, Hermitage,Mammoth Spring, Mineral Springs, Murfreesboro and Westside Consolidated.

In the past six to 18 months, the districts reduced employee positions, closed a school campus, cut a football program, consolidated bus routes, won voter approval of tax increases and enacted other measures to correct financial problems.

All eight of the districts removed from fiscal distress were initially placed in the state program because of spending practices over three years that threatened to deplete their reserves and cause them to deficit spend ...