Education notebook

Education Board finalizes new chief

Gov. Mike Beebe said last month that Tony Wood of Searcy was his choice for the job of state education commissioner, and the Arkansas Board of Education finalized that selection Thursday with a unanimous vote of approval.

Wood, 63, currently deputy commissioner at the Arkansas Department of Education, will succeed Tom Kimbrell in the position overseeing the state's 238 traditional school districts and nearly two dozen charter school systems that serve 475,000 public school students across the state. Wood starts July 1.

Wood's annual salary of $151,944 will increase to $228,887.98 a year, which is the same as Kimbrell's this year.

Kimbrell is leaving the state job to become superintendent of the Bryant School District, where he will be paid $200,000 annually. Kimbrell starts his new job July 1.

Arkansas law empowers the Education Board to employ the commissioner, subject to confirmation by the governor.

The education commissioner serves at the pleasure of the governor, which raises a degree of uncertainty about how long Wood might serve as commissioner. Beebe is leaving the governor's position in January. He is ineligible to run for re-election. The person elected to replace him will be able to select his own education commissioner.

Dollarway district exits state control

The Arkansas Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to release the Dollarway School District from two years of state control, effective Oct. 1 after the election and training of a new school board.

State officials reported that the district, which is in Jefferson County, has committed no violations of state accreditation standards in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years.

The state board voted in June 2012 to assume authority over the 1,296-student district in Jefferson County after concluding that the district had violated state accreditation standards. That included failing to ensure that all teachers held proper state licensure and inaccurate record keeping in regard to student course transcripts, putting some students in jeopardy of not graduating on time.

Bobby Acklin, 57, the state-appointed superintendent in the 2103-14 school year, told the board Thursday that he hopes to continue as superintendent until he retires, depending on the will of the School Board that will be elected Sept. 16.

Education Board member Vicki Saviers of Little Rock said the decision to release the district was a difficult one to make because there was no district achievement data for 2012-13 and 2013-14 on the state website to review.

Dollarway High was recently named a school in academic distress because fewer than half of its students scored at proficient or better levels on state exams in recent years.

A district with a school in academic distress is in jeopardy of a state takeover if corrections are not made. Board member Diane Zook of Melbourne questioned whether the state would be treating Dollarway and Acklin like yo-yos if it were to release the district and then take it over again for academic distress.

Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell said the state lacks the legal authority to retain control of a district that has corrected its accreditation violations.

"There are lots of good things happening in Dollarway," Acklin said. "If I wasn't there, I wouldn't believe it either [based on reports] from media. We have no student issues that amount to anything. We have a lot to work with. The district could be a premier district with the right leadership."

LR member picked as board chairman

Arkansas Board of Education member Sam Ledbetter of Little Rock was selected Thursday by his colleagues to be the board's chairman for the 2014-15 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Ledbetter, who was raised in Camden and is now an attorney, replaces Brenda Gullett of Fayetteville in the position on the nine-member board.

Gullett's seven-year term on the board expires this month.

Both Gullett and Ledbetter are former state legislators, and both were appointed to their Education Board positions by Gov. Mike Beebe.

Toyce Newton of Crossett was elected vice chairman of the Education Board for the coming year.

Metro on 06/13/2014

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