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Consolidation possible in White County
Consolidation possible in White County
Staff Writer 16 Jan 2003
Only two school districts in White County will remain as "unified districts" if the Arkansas legislature passes the education reform plan outlined in Governor Mike Huckabee's State of the State address.
Huckabee said that the districts with over 1,500 students, such as Searcy and Beebe, would continue operating as unified districts.
During his address, Huckabee said that the most efficient schools operationally are those with enrollments between 1,000 and 1,500 students and the most efficient academically are those with enrollments between 2,000 and 2,500.
"The remaining districts will become part of 25 to 30 regional districts," Huckabee said Tuesday. "And those schools serving grades K-8 as of January 1 of this year can continue as community school units. Grades 9-12 would have the option of merging with an existing unified district, forming a secondary community in cooperation with other schools in that region."
Huckabee said the high schools would be expected to offer a "rich curriculum as defined by the state Board of Education, similar to that as suggested in the report of the Blue Ribbon Commission, the Next Step plan and other endeavors, including the most recently released plan by the Chamber of Commerce."
Searcy Superintendent Tony Wood said that at this point, no one can anticipate how the school district would be affected by Huckabee's plan.
"Basically what he presented is a proposal. He stated clearly at the end of it that it was subject to modification and study," Wood said. "It would appear based on the number that we certainly are well beyond that 1,500 figure that he mentioned for a K-12 school district and that our identity would be retained."
The Searcy district has 3,666 students.
"I think all of this clearly now is just put forth for study and discussion. There has not been any decisions made or any laws passed that would put this in place," Wood said. "I took it as recommendations for a direction for his office."
Whether for study or discussion, Rose Bud Superintendent Jeff Williams had a definite opinion on the plan.
"Oh well, I hate his plan," Williams said. "I don't think it is good for kids. I would say this: I think what is best for kids in Rose Bud is in Rose Bud. It is not going to be in Heber and it is not going to be in Searcy. It is not going to be in some regional setting. It is going to be in Rose Bud."
Rose Bud, which has 833 students, would be among the schools affected by Huckabee's plan.
"The way I read it, it looked like there might be two options. We might have a kindergarten through eighth grade there, and they would send our high school either to Searcy or to some regional high school," Williams said.
Williams said that he has talked with several parents in his district.
"Most of them are sick, especially parents that have a seventh or eighth grader. They want their kids to continue to go to school in Rose Bud and graduate from Rose Bud."
Williams said that if parents wanted their children to attend other White County schools, they could seek transfers during the summer months.
During a discussion with legislators, Williams asked them to keep an open-mind.
"Don't just jump on this plan right off the bat," he said. "I don't think it is the best thing for kids."
District 49 State Representative David Evans said that he sees compromises being made in the education plan.
"I know that a lot of the legislators are getting a lot of response from people. One of the gentlemen who sits in front of me has had 100 e-mails on the subject and not a single one was for the governor's plan," Evans said. "But, some of the governor's plan, I think has some merit. I admire the boldness of it, but consolidation is something I hate to see happening strictly based on numbers. There's a lot of small schools doing a really good job, and I think that needs to be factored in the equation in some shape, form or fashion."
Evans said that he is only one of 135 legislators who will be considering the proposal.
"It seems that a lot of legislators have concerns about it," he said. "They were pleased that the governor is showing some leadership in this area, but hopefully there is room for compromise."