LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock School Board President Katherine Mitchell denied Wednesday that she was ever employed by the city district, and said that if her involvement in a teacher training program in 2005 was a violation of state statutes, she would have expected Superintendent Roy Brooks and Chief Financial Officer Mark Milhollen to call attention to the problem at the time.
Mitchell is under investigation by the Pulaski County sheriff's office at the request of the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney because she was paid $6,400 in Little Rock School District funds for work in the nontraditional-teacher licensure program.
State Code Annotated 6-13-616 says people elected to school boards are ineligible for employment in the same district. And statutes 6-24-101 through 6-24-120 also place restrictions on board members knowingly entering into contracts with their districts - although exceptions are permitted with school board approval.
Mitchell's denial came in a speech to more than 100 members and guests of the Political Animals Club, which met at the Main Library in downtown Little Rock. Mitchell said her only contract of employment has been with Philander Smith College, which was one of several institutions that joined to offer the training program on the Philander Smith campus.
"I have been mindful of my obligations as a board member and careful to operate within the law in all that I do," Mitchell said in a statement she read to the crowd. "I did not deviate from normal practice in this instance.I continued to work at Philander Smith College in providing the services and was paid a check by the LRSD, which served as the custodian of funds, not as my employer. I have committed no crime, notwithstanding the inference and allegation to that effect."
Mitchell made references only to the 2005 program and not to a similar 2004 teacher training program, and she didn't address allegations that she failed to record the payments on her annual statements of financial interest that most public officials must file in their local county clerk's office.
In March 2005, Brooks signed a document titled the "2005-07 Little Rock Non-traditional Teacher Licensure Program Proposal" that included a list of potential instructors including Mitchell, various Little Rock and North Little Rock school district employees and faculty members from Philander Smith and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Brooks' signature indicated the district's endorsement of the proposal for a state grant.The document also is signed by Marion Woods, the school district's professional development coordinator, who served as the project director for the licensure program.
Brooks, whose contract is being bought out this summer as a result of a 4-3 vote of the School Board, declined Wednesday to take responsibility for the school district payments to Mitchell.
"Katherine Mitchell has been on the board for nearly 20 years," Brooks said. "Certainly wewould hope that she would know that you cannot accept money as a board member from the Little Rock School District. Mr. Milhollen and I regret the fact that she is trying to place blame somewhere else. We are not going to be the scapegoats for someone who has clearly violated Arkansas law. Neither Mr. Milhollen nor I cashed the checks. We didn't put the checks in our bank account, and we didn't spend the money."
Mitchell told the audience that she would not make any further statements regarding the payments to her, but she did talk about her concerns regarding Brooks' work in the district, and she responded to questions regarding the replacement of Brooks as chief executive of the 26,600-student district.
"I'm sure we will have to have an interim superintendent because this is not a good time to do a superintendent search to get someone here in August when school starts," Mitchell said. "We are discussing this at our School Board meeting [tonight]. I want a superintendent who has had some experience in an urban setting, who has good, effective communication skills and who is willing to communicate with all aspects of our community and who has some good leadership skills and knows how to lead people and encourage them to do things they should do in their particular jobs."
Martha Hill, a district parent, asked who Mitchell had talked to about being the interim superintendent.
"I haven't talked to anyone," Mitchell responded.
Pulaski County County-Circuit Clerk Pat O'Brien - a lawyer and a former School Board member in the neighboring Pulaski County Special School District - asked Mitchell whether she personally believed the Little Rock district was unitary, or desegregated, as declared by a federal judge last February. O'Brien also questioned whether Mitchell would direct the school district's attorneys to continue to support unitary status in the appeal of the lower court order that is pending in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"I don't think we met the court requirements for unitary status," Mitchell said. "Initially we were told we had to have our programs evaluated and that the programs that actually worked we were to embed them in the curriculum. [U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson Jr.] said the district had shown a good-faith effort. So, the terms of getting out of court had really changed when we went to court last time [in January]. I am for doing whatever we need to do so that all our children can achieve. We need to embed the programs and make sure we put them in all of our schools so that all our children can be beneficiaries of effective programs.
"As far as the appeal," she added, "we have to continue with it. I mean, our attorneys will have to fight it unless Mr.Walker decides to drop it."
John Walker, who represents black students known as the Joshua intervenors, appealed Wilson's Feb. 23 order finding the district both unitary and released from any further court monitoring. Walker has proposed dropping his appeal if the district will agree to take certain steps such as expanding its planning, research and evaluationoffice. The school district's attorneys have argued against that proposed settlement, saying the district is likely to win the court appeal and is free to take any and all steps necessary to improve student achievement without conforming to a settlement agreement with an outside party.
At the gathering Wednesday, Mitchell referred to the 2005 reorganization of the school district that resulted in the eventual elimination of 100 administrative and clerical positions.
She never opposed the idea of reorganizing the school district, she said, but she didn't like the process that was used by Brooks. She said she initially asked Brooks when he arrived in 2004 to take time to familiarize himself with the school district before undertaking the project.Instead, he moved ahead, using consultants from California who "knew less about the school district than he did."
She said many of the positions that were eliminated had been resources to teachers who work with students with great academic needs, and those cuts are now reflected in student performance on tests.
The financial impact of the job cuts on black employees also was a concern, she said.
"African-American employees lost $918,000 in salary while white employees lost $28,000," she said, citing information she said she received from the district.
Mitchell also noted the change in the School Board composition after last fall's school election. The previous 5-2 white majority on the board shifted to a 4-3 black majority - a first in district history.
Mitchell said the majority change caused "a lot of disturbance" among some in the community and within the district.
"But this is a democracy, and in a democracy the majority rules," she said. "We have to get accustomed to the fact that even though the majority is African-American, it doesn't mean they don't have the ability to provide the kind of leadership we need for this district, and it doesn't mean they are going to discriminate against any children in the district. We are concerned about all the children in our district and the quality of their education. We are concerned about having the resources for the schools."
Mitchell said she hoped that the community could take advantage of a "new beginning" and not let one person or action divide the city.
Those attending the speech later expressed some optimism about the district's future.
Ruth Bell, a member of the Pulaski County League of Women Voters, said the league was pleased that Mitchell was willing to appear at the forum.
"We hope this will mark the beginning of more open exchange among board members and between the patrons and the public and the board," Bell said.
Dennis Burrow, an audience member, said he also was pleased with the forum and said it should be done more often. He said he intended to invite all the School Board members to a dinner during which they could just talk with each other.
The audience was made up of large contingents from both sides of the divide in the school district, as well as others involved in civic, political, legal and media affairs.
School Board members Charles Armstrong, Larry Berkley and Melanie Fox were present, as were Walker and one of Brooks' attorneys, Jess Askew III of the Williams & Anderson law firm. Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore was in the crowd, along with community activists Brownie Ledbetter and Annie Abrams.
Lisa Black, executive director of the Public Education Foundation of Little Rock attended, as did Arkansas Appeals Court Judge Wendell Griffen; state Rep. Fred Allen, D-Little Rock; and Walter Kimbrough, president of Philander Smith College.
Front Section, Pages 1, 8 on 06/28/2007