Individuals and organizations that want to acquire the Little Rock School District's soon-to-be vacant Franklin Elementary presented plans Wednesday for a community health center, a charter school and a new location for the Watershed Human and Community Development Agency.
Two others -- Anika Whitfield and Andy Burns -- each strongly lobbied for the Little Rock district to reverse its decision to close Franklin as a budget-cutting measure and to instead continue to operate the elementary campus at 1701 S. Harrison St.
Marshall Nash, a member of the board of directors for Watershed, described all the food, clothing, job training, counseling services and disaster relief that the nonprofit agency has provided to Little Rock and beyond since 1978 under the guidance of its founder, the Rev. Hezekiah Stewart. That work has had its headquarters since 1983 at the school district-owned Gillam School on Springer Boulevard.
"We need a new facility and this is perfect," Nash told the audience of about 60 meeting in the Franklin school media center.
In response to a question from neighborhood resident state Sen. Joyce Elliott, Nash said that the Springer Boulevard area has benefited from Watershed's presence.
"If we have a place like the Watershed move in, there is no question that it would at the very least sustain property values," Nash said. "It's a place of refuge. It's a neutral place when there is friction and tension. If you get the wrong thing in place it can detract."
Watershed, which has an annual operating budget of about $450,000, has offered $25,000 in compensation for Franklin. That is the largest amount offered by any of the different groups.
However, LaShannon Spencer, chief executive officer of the Community Health Centers of Arkansas that was founded in 1985 and serves 12 community health centers in the state, said her nonprofit organization that nets income of about $900,000 a year would be in a position to negotiate prices with the school district.
Her initial proposal seeks a five-year no-payment, no-interest loan from the district in return for a commitment from the organization to reinvest a percentage of its revenue for upkeep of the building and provide free physicals to Little Rock district athletes in 2017-18. At the end of five years, the school would be deeded to the Community Health Centers of Arkansas.
Spencer has proposed that her organization relocate its headquarters to the campus, which would partner with others to provide primary care, mental health, dental and vision care, along with a pharmacy, laboratory services and wellness programs. Additionally, the organization would partner with the Little Rock School District to offer after-school and summer education programs and job training to high school students in the health science fields.
Kesha Cobb of the nonprofit Sustainability Project told the audience that she would like to operate Franklin as an open-enrollment elementary charter school if it cannot remain open as a traditional public school.
Cobb, whose initial one-page proposal submitted to the district last month did not reference a charter school, said Wednesday that the campus would be unique with its emphasis on urban agriculture, health and wellness. She acknowledged that the charter school would compete with the district for students and money but the plan would allow for the continuation of educational services to students. The programs at the school would be more fully developed with help from a diverse community planning committee, Cobb said. She has not yet applied to the state for a charter to operate a school.
Her financial offer to the district is nearly identical to that of Spencer's. In response to audience questions, Cobb said that initial funding for the campus would be generated by its urban agricultural program.
Little Rock Superintendent Mike Poore said that the proposals and the written comments made by audience members, as well as comments from neighborhood advisory teams will be considered in what he ultimately recommends to Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key about the use of Franklin and Woodruff schools.
Metro on 04/13/2017