Education notebook

Candidate forum set for Thursday

The Arkansas Community Organizations is hosting a Little Rock School Board candidate forum at 6 p.m. Thursday in advance of the Sept. 16 school election that will decide the board's Zone 1 and Zone 5 members.

The event will be in the auditorium at the Willie Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center at 12th and Oak streets.

Neil Sealy of the Arkansas Community Organizations said the event is open to the public.

"Our goal is to generate interest in the election and highlight important issues," Sealy said.

Candidates for the two open seats have been invited to answer questions prepared in advance as well as questions from the audience.

Incumbent Norma Johnson and challenger Joy Springer are seeking the Zone 1 board position, which represents east and downtown Little Rock.

Incumbent Jody Carreiro and challenger Jim Ross are seeking the Zone 5 seat that represents portions of west Little Rock.

The terms of office are for three years, and the positions are unpaid.

Early voting in the election begins Sept. 9 at the Pulaski County Administration Annex and in locations in North Little Rock and Jacksonville.

The Arkansas Community Organizations is a membership organization of low-income and working families fighting o end poverty and discrimination.

5-year plan OK'd to right tax error

The North Little Rock School Board has approved a five-year plan for reimbursing the Pulaski County Special School District for more than $1.1 million in misdirected property tax revenue.

An error in the Pulaski County assessor's office resulted in property tax revenue for certain parcels of land in the Pulaski County Special district being assigned instead to the North Little Rock district. The error occurred from 2009-13.

The North Little Rock district will make a first payment of $128,563.28 to the Pulaski County Special district by Dec. 1 this year. Subsequent payments will be made Dec. 1 of each year through 2018. Those payments will be $233,989.76 in 2015, $239,737.70 in 2016, $264,864.04 in 2017 and $252,350.32 in 2018.

High school goes for a college vibe

Arkansas Baptist School has converted a wing of its high school at 8400 Ranch Boulevard in Little Rock into the Center for University Studies, enabling high school juniors and seniors to study in a university setting while earning college credit.

The school has since 2011 offered a concurrent college curriculum program to its high school students in partnership with John Brown University. In the fall of 2013, the program was expanded to include a partnership with Southwest Baptist University.

Now, the upstairs wing of the Upper School campus has been renovated to mimic a collegiate environment, complete with a student lounge, new technology systems and updated classrooms.

The concurrent classes enable the Arkansas Baptist School students to enroll in college courses at their high school and receive both high school and college credit. The college credit can be applied toward a degree at the university of the student's choosing.

Metro on 08/31/2014

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