Several issues will occupy districts’ time in coming days
Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/66625/
Next week proves a busy one for some school districts in Washington County.
The school choice deadline, new fiscal years and the official handing over of district keys to new superintendents are some of the changes that will take effect for school districts on Tuesday. And Monday is when neighboring districts are supposed to submit feedback to the Arkansas Department of Education on its proposal to require a neighboring district to annex the Greenland School District due to its financial problems. The Arkansas State Board of Education is scheduled to act on the recommendation at a meeting July 14 in Little Rock.
Uncertainty about the future of the Greenland district has prompted some residents to consider filing school choice applications in other districts.
Prairie Grove High School Principal Ron Bond said recently that his school had received many inquiries about school choice from Greenland students.
“ So far we have 137 (applications ), ” said Judy Tiller, West Fork Public Schools office employee.
Most of those applications are from Greenland residents, she said. Greenland has about 930 students.
At recent meetings, Greenland Board of Education members have tried to encourage residents who file school choice applications to remember that they can always return to their home district. They also noted that even if the district is annexed, the annexation partner will likely have to leave the campus operating as is for at least the upcoming school year.
In an effort to ease Greenland parents ’ concerns about the future of the district, Fayetteville Superintendent Bobby New has said that if his district takes over Greenland schools, they will be left intact for the upcoming school year.
“ There’s no need to file school choice for this year, ” New said.
Most of the Greenland district’s neighbors support giving the district more time to work its way off the state department’s fiscal distress list. On June 10, voters approved a 2. 6-mill tax increase and a bond issue restructuring that were designed to provide more financial stability.
School choice School choice allows students to seek a transfer to another district without their home district’s consent, provided the application is submitted by July 1. According to the Arkansas Department of Education, mailed school choice applications must be postmarked no later than July 1. Once a student is accepted under school choice, he or she has the right to go to the school year after year without reapplying. Some school districts, such as Fayetteville and Prairie Grove, have become more restrictive of out-of-district transfers besides school choice requests, which they have no say over.
The school choice law does include a complex race clause that may affect a student’s ability to receive a transfer. It depends on the racial demographics of the student’s home district and where he or she seeks a transfer. In an interview earlier this month, Arkansas Department of Education employee Oliver Dillingham said he did not think districts in Washington County could accept school choice applications from white students who live in Fayetteville this year. Racial demographics are reevaluated each year. Fayetteville Associate Superintendent Ginny Wiseman also said Thursday that she didn’t think Fayetteville would be able to accept school choice transfers from white students in other county districts besides Springdale.
A new year Tuesday is also when the new fiscal year begins for school districts, as the financial year runs from July 1 to June 30.
In conjunction with the fiscal year, July 1 is also the date when most new superintendent changes will take effect. School employment contracts in Arkansas typically run from July 1 to June 30, so new teachers and principals will also be taking their jobs on Tuesday.
Mike Harris will take over as superintendent of the Elkins School District. He comes to Elkins from Benton, where he oversaw an alternative learning program. He is also a former agriculture instructor at Lincoln and West Fork schools.
He succeeds Robert Allen, who will become assistant superintendent in Huntsville. He will leave Elkins after 21 years with the district — seven as superintendent and 14 as high school principal.
In Prairie Grove, incoming Superintendent Randy Willison will take over Tuesday.
Also on that day, Fayetteville Superintendent Bobby New will enter his last year on the job. He has said he plans to retire after June 2009.