Arkansas' new education commissioner said Thursday that the state takeover of the Little Rock School District was in direct fulfillment of previous Arkansas Supreme Court decisions and a constitutional duty to the district's students.
Speaking at his first state Board of Education meeting since becoming public education chief, Johnny Key also said the Little Rock district needs more than just a plan focused on its six schools identified as academically distressed.
"It needs to embark on a comprehensive improvement process that ... takes a more holistic view of the district, its finances, its operations and its academics with the overarching concept of how to best educate students," Key said.
The Arkansas Education Board voted 5-4 on Jan. 28 to take over the 24,000-student district, the largest in the state, primarily because more than 50 percent of the students in six of the district's 48 schools had failed over three years to score at proficient levels on state math and literacy exams.
Education Board members said at the time they also had concerns about the district's ability to offset the loss of $37 million a year in state desegregation aid in a way that would serve the best interests of students.
Key committed the Education Department to working with the Little Rock district's interim superintendent, Dexter Suggs, to develop strategies that will provide better educational opportunities for students and return local control to the district that no longer has an elected school board.
Key said he has directed Arkansas Department of Education Chief of Staff Deborah Coffman to be the liaison between the agency and the school district.
He has also asked Suggs, whom he supervises, to look at ways to expand the district's pre-kindergarten program that currently serves more than 1,000 3- and 4-year-olds so that the children have a better foundation when they start kindergarten.
Education Board members on Thursday urged Suggs, who was on the telephone, to increase his communication to the public about the district and questioned him about the changes he is instituting in the district, including a seven-period day at most secondary schools and redesigning the educational programs at Baseline Elementary and Hall High, which are two of the six academically distressed schools.
Baker Kurrus, a lawyer and former Little Rock School Board member appointed by the state to head a seven-member financial stability committee, addressed the state Education Board. The committee will make recommendations to Key and Suggs on ways the district, which has an annual budget of more than $320 million, can accommodate the anticipated loss of $37 million a year in state desegregation aid after the 2017-18 school year.
He told the board that the district is a wealthy one with a $3.2 billion tax base, and that a lot of money is being spent in areas where it is inefficient and there is a lack of accountability.
Kurrus said it's urgent to come up with strategies to achieve financial stability and be a better district at the same time.
He noted that the district has just notified more than 60 central office staff members of $3.5 million in job cuts for the coming year.
"It's possible to be nimble, lean, agile, efficient and energized in a small organization with dedicated people, That's the object of the game," Kurrus said.
Education Board Chairman Sam Ledbetter thanked Kurrus for his efforts.
"We support you and we support your committee and we support the school district. We really do want this to be the best school district in the state of Arkansas and I think we can do that."
Metro on 04/10/2015