The Little Rock School District’s Civic Advisory Committee — created by the state Board of Education last year when it took control of the district — on Thursday called for the state’s education chief to be replaced and for the school system to be returned to local control.
The committee of teachers, parents and philanthropic leaders passed a resolution 16-0 asking Gov. Asa Hutchinson to replace Education Commissioner Johnny Key.
The resolution also asks the Education Board “return local governance” to the district after the election of a school board on Sept. 20, which is this year’s statewide school board election date.
The committee’s resolution comes at the end of a month in which Key announced Superintendent Baker Kurrus’ one-year contract will not be renewed and Michael Poore, superintendent in the Bentonville School District, will head the Little Rock district beginning July 1 at an annual salary of $225,000. The leadership change was made with no advance public notice it was being considered.
Last May, Key appointed Kurrus, an attorney and former Little Rock School Board member, to be superintendent shortly after the district was taken over by the state in January 2015. The takeover, which included dismissing the School Board, came after six of the district’s 48 schools were labeled as academically distressed because of chronically low student test scores.
“The LRSD and its supporters deserve open public engagement in decisions that are made on its behalf,” the committee’s resolution begins. “The state takeover of the LRSD as it has been implemented has further destabilized the LRSD by not making visible efforts to effectively communicate with, nor seek advisement from, the [committee] and/or the LRSD personnel and community.”
The commissioner and Education Board needed to demonstrate transparency, engage the community in the decision-making processes, and develop short- and longterm plans for the success of each school in the district, the resolution states.
“Approaching a year and a half after the LRSD takeover, none of these recommended goals nor objectives have been met and the results have bred further distrust and instability in our beloved LRSD and its community,” the resolution further said.
J.R. Davis, communications director for Hutchinson, said Thursday the governor “fully supports Commissioner Key and the job he is doing.
The goals are to provide the best education possible for every student and turn the district back to local control as soon as possible, Davis said.
“We believe Mike Poore is that guy to get that job done,” Davis said. “He has the resume, and he has the experience of turning academic distressed districts around in a short amount of time.”