Cheers turned to chants of “shame” at the Arkansas State Board of Education meeting Thursday afternoon as the board approved restoring local control of Little Rock schools next year, but ended recognition of the teachers’ union.
The motion to rescind the proposed framework placing schools that received F statewide achievement scores under continued state control was made by member Chad Pekron and seconded by Fitz Hill.
“It seems to me we won’t be able to accomplish the goals we want for students under (the proposed) framework,” Pekron said. “Therefore I think the best we can do under the circumstances is to return the district to unified local control.”
Public comment overwhelmingly favored returning local control and continuing recognition of the union as the sole entity that can bargain with the state.
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The terms of returning to local control were not fleshed out Thursday evening, and board members talked of more two-way conversations with the community.
The crowd, which overflowed the auditorium, stayed quiet for most of the meeting aside from occasional applause until talks turned to the union.
The board took its vote to protests from crowd members who shouted that they didn’t understand what was being voted on.
This story will be updated. Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for the full story.