Editor, The Commercial:
Not many moons ago, a bold young high school principal began a crusade to bring attention to the horrendous condition of the campus he had recently been invited to helm. He was appalled that the major revenue center of the school district was located in the vicinity of his campus, yet it appeared that other high schools in the district were being better served fiscally.
His crusade became the catalyst for a community movement. Shortly thereafter, the citizens of Jacksonville, Ark., were granted permission to leave the Pulaski County Special School District and create the Jacksonville North Pulaski School District.
Last year while performing administrator duties, I traveled to the new Jacksonville High School campus to monitor a basketball game. I was awestruck by the beautiful, massive academic facility, expansive parking area, state-of-the-art football stadium and ultra-modern multi-purpose gymnasium. It was gorgeous! I was excited for our students to play there, and depressed that they had to return to our decaying home court. Our children deserve better.
Virtually every other day, I wear my class ring. I am a proud member of the 1989 graduating class of the most illustrious Pine Bluff High School. It was a privilege to learn alongside so many future physicians, attorneys, government servants, law enforcement officers, educators, ministers and the like.
Space would not allow for me to enumerate the achievements of my peers. I strive daily to live up to the standards that they have set. Unfortunately, I grieve daily because 711 West 11th Avenue, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 71601, does not feel...it doesn't feel like it felt during my student days. That statement is not intended as an indictment against any person or entity!
It is, however, intended to communicate that this is not the Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Ark., of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The demographics have changed. The population has declined. For better or for worse, our area has changed. As a community, we have to accept that.
My three children graduated from the renowned Watson Chapel High School. The rigor of the instruction that they received, the diversity of the population that they experienced and the controlled atmosphere in which they learned were impressive.
But, even between the time that my oldest and youngest graduated, change was evident. In the few years since my youngest departed those hallowed halls, our friends at Chapel experienced an educator's worst nightmare. Truth be told, that scenario could very well have played out in the Dollarway or Pine Bluff school districts. We all received that incident as a wake-up call.
In recent years, I have seen longtime businesses move outside of the Pine Bluff city limits. Home values have steadily decreased. Academically, our schools are distressed. Criminality is on the rise among our youth. We must now consider that which we once believed we would never have to consider. Formerly three, now two distinct districts have a common negative reality. We're not doing well apart from each other. Each brand has been tarnished, maybe irreparably.
Concerning K-12 education within the Pine Bluff city limits, it is my belief that our massive common enemy is all of the aforementioned community ills. It is my opinion that we must unite our resources (funding, personnel, community partners, etc.) to create an all new district.
This would afford us the best opportunity to build and maintain the new high school that all of our children deserve. We can respectfully retire our current brands into magnet-themed junior high schools. No district would be "the lead."
Submitted humbly as a private citizen.
Dexter K. Lee
Pine Bluff