The writing is on the wall. Its time to get out of litigation and begin rebuilding the districts; remodeling existing schools and building new schools where needed. Time to focus on providing a good education in well functioning facilities to ALL the students. Its about time, isnt it? From the Arkansas Democrat Gazette - County district proposes upgrade. Chief pitches plan for $220 million The superintendent of the state-controlled Pulaski County Special School District proposed a $220 million school-facilities plan Monday to make the 18,000-student district “a premier” system in the state. Failure to act could lead to the dismantling of the system that was considered one of the state’s best in the 1960s and 1970s, Superintendent Jerry Guess told the Arkansas Board of Education. “I believe the district can operate successfully and it can operate more successfully for the benefit of the kids if it is left as a separate district,” he said, calling for the district to function with as little controversy as possible so it won’t “continue to shove people out to the next ring of school districts.” Guess has been the district’s superintendent since 2011. He was hired by Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell shortly after Kimbrell fired the former superintendent and dissolved the School Board of the district, which is categorized by the state Education Board as fiscally distressed because of audit findings of past mismanagement and overspending. Districts under state control can be merged with other districts or left intact if conditions improve andthey are returned to local governance. In his presentation to the state board, Guess called for two new high school buildings, the renovation of two existing high schools into middle schools and additional improvements funded partly by a school-tax increase. The Education Board took no position on the proposal but did ask for additional information. The proposal would equalize the district’s mix of aged, deteriorating schools and new buildings, Guess said. That disparity between new schools in Maumelle and Sherwood and older schools in southeast and west Pulaski County has contributed to keeping the school district from receiving a declaration of unitary status from the federal courts in a 30-year-old school desegregation lawsuit. The building proposal also is an effort to show that the district can continue to operate if Jacksonville leaders are successful in their decades-long effort to establish a new Jacksonville/ North Pulaski district, taking 10 schools from the Pulaski County Special system. Guess, however, envisions retaining the Sherwood and Maumelle communities in the Pulaski County Special district, though leaders in those cities are exploring the possibility of forming their own school systems. There would be something for everyone in the building plan, Guess said. He also said that failure to take action could bring an end to the school district with the third-highest enrollment in the state. “I would hope that these communities would realize that this is a way for this district to pull together,” Guess told the board. “I don’t think you can propose to help one area and not help the other areas and have a chance to succeed. But I think this plan gives everyone something, and I think we could argue aggressively that it would be a good thing to do. “The last and final piece is that the patrons can control their future,” he added. “If they want this kind of a plan, we can get you this kind of a plan. If they don’t take it, some sort of dissolution of the district becomes more likely.” The plan would include building a new $50 million Mills High School in southeast Pulaski County and renovating the current Mills campus to be a middle school. Similarly, Robinson High in west Pulaski County would be rebuilt for $50 million and the existing campus would be renovated to become a new middle school.An additional $15 million would go to upgrade Sylvan Hills High School, which Guess described as a good, functional building that can be used for years to come. The proposal also addresses the needs for elementary school improvements - such as replacingeight portable classroom buildings at Baker Elementary with a building addition. There would also be money for upgrading extracurricular facilities, for technology improvements and for demolition of unused structures owned by the district. He suggested that property tax mills be raised by voters in the district to help finance any construction. About $170 million could be raised by increasing the existing 40.7-mill property tax rate to a level that would remain below the rates in the neighboring Little Rock School District, which has a rate of 46.4 mills, and the North Little Rock School District, which has a rate of 48.3 mills. North Little Rock is in the midst of a $265.5 million building program that will shrink its 21 schools to 13. Nearly all of the 13 will be rebuilt or remodeled. Guess said some of the money for his district’s construction would have to come from other sources and suggested that it might be in the state’s interest to contribute to the project. While the state provides funds for academic building construction, the Pulaski County Special district qualifies for very little of that money because of its relatively wealthy local tax base. He said the revenue raised by an increase in property values in Pulaski County could contribute to the building fund. In response to questions from state Education Board members, Guess said that he would like to see a millage election held as soon as next fall, but doubted that it could happen that quickly. The district and the state are both parties in the Pulaski County desegregation case. The state is seeking to be released from a 1989 agreement that requires it to pay desegregation funding to the three Pulaski County districts. A trial on that possible release is set for Dec. 9. Parties are also working on a possible out-of-court settlement. “A lot of things are coming to an end - unitary status, desegregation settlement, Jacksonville’s ability to separate,” he said. “I would propose that as soon as we can get some position on the district’s status on facilities, then we begin to say how we proceed.” “You may well be right that this single district makes the most sense,” Education Board member Jay Barth of Little Rock told Guess. “It feels like we need good data to begin to make wise decisions about what configuration in Pulaski County is going to make the most sense in terms of wealth, in terms of demography and in terms of the ability in a manageable size to deliver a good public education.” Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/05/2013
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 14:37:21 +0000
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