Last night the LRSD School Board took a unanimous first step in establishing what will be (hopefully) many more to come; A step toward the rebuilding not only the structures but also (hopefully) the district itself. In the comments by Board members, there were a number of long impassioned and poignant statements. Norma Johnson hit one out of the park, as she held steady against the typical kind of outside pressure that has undermined this district for decades. Her words could not be clearer; she will vote on the side of right and right means we move forward together. The past no longer works. Those living in her zone should walk a little taller today. Greg Adams, the President and zone 4 representative took his comments to the mat. He wants this Board and District to move forward with “creativity and courage.” His remarks included a strong inspiring quote from Theodore Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Yes, Mr. Adams, you and your fellow Board members are the men and women in the arena. We however, are the Citizens in the Republic of the LRSD. In the same speech from which you quote Mr. Adams, Mr. Roosevelt also said, “success or failure will be conditioned upon the way in which the average man, the average woman, does his or her duty, first in the ordinary, every-day affairs of life, and next in those great occasional cries which call from heroic virtues. The average citizen must be a good citizen if our republics are to succeed Without the drive of the common man (and he acknowledges women as vital), an economic system, which relies on the drive and fortitude of its workforce, would crash and take the republic with it; the benefit of society is crucial for survival. You yourself have said that the benefit of ALL throughout this District will be crucial for the survival of the LRSD. We too, shall be called upon to take the initiative to help in the success. Our citizenship should not be asked to accept the half waypoint to our children’s education any longer. Are we not good citizens? Do we not cry out for the virtues of our civic rights? The citizens of the Northwest need secondary education in the form of both a middle school and a high school. Do not underestimate our tenacity. We shall continue to endure our disappointments with fortitude, Mr. Adams. The West must and will be pertinacious about this issue. As one of our representatives in the Northwest portion of the District, I implore you to acknowledge our needs. Mr. Adams, how is the District to succeed when a key component to the success and achievement of our future is left unsaid, unaddressed and neglected? ************************************** From the Democrat-Gazette - Master plan for schools accepted It will guide LR district upgrade The Little Rock School Board on Thursday accepted from consultants a comprehensive facilities master plan -- the data and recommendations from which will be used by school system leaders to craft a final plan for upgrading campuses in the states largest district. The boards unanimous vote to accept the voluminous facilities plan from a consulting team led by the Fanning-Howey architecture and engineering firm of Indianapolis was followed by a second 7-0 board vote to establish a millage campaign steering committee. That steering committee will help the board in planning for an election on raising property taxes to pay for repairing, expanding and constructing school buildings. A date for the election or the amount of a proposed tax increase is yet to be decided. The cost of the consultants recommendations, if all were done, would approach $500 million in the 25,000-student district that has an annual budget of well over $300 million. School Board President Greg Adams welcomed the results from the year-long facilities study, saying the comprehensive review was necessary to give the board a big picture view of all the needs of the district so that the district can use its resources to benefit students and be competitive in a marketplace where parents have many school options. We will not be able to keep the students we have if we just sit still and patch up the schools we have to try to keep them going. That will not be good in the long run for our students or our community, he said. We need a bolder vision than that. Adams said the board wont let the study, which cost $974,260 plus expenses, go to waste. We paid for it and worked with it and we are going to use it to make good decisions -- whatever those good decisions are. The consultants recommendations include construction of a new McClellan High School, a new middle school in west Little Rock, the relocation of the existing Cloverdale Middle School to McClellans current site on Geyer Springs Road, and a replacement building for David O. Dodd Elementary. The plans also propose repurposing Carver Magnet and Rockefeller Elementary, both on the east side of the city, into pre-kindergarten centers. Still other recommendations call for eliminating the use of all portable classrooms, which means an addition of some 50 classrooms to Central High, and new classroom wings at Parkview Magnet High, and Dunbar Magnet, Henderson and Mabelvale middle schools. At the elementary level, where the district is projected to have little growth over the next 10 years, the planners recommended additions to Bale, Forest Park, Mabelvale, Otter Creek, Pulaski Heights and Western Hills elementaries. The plans call for the addition of activity space at the elementary schools -- most of which do not have gymnasiums -- along with art and music rooms, some of which would be converted from existing classrooms. The plan also incorporates building repairs, roof and utility system replacements, and more security features. Air conditioning would be installed in cafeteria kitchens at 25 schools. Thursdays meeting was attended by several who were alarmed by some of the recommendations. Pam Adcock, a parent and activist in southwest Little Rock, told the board that residents in that part of the city want McClellan to remain at its current Geyer Springs location. She questioned why Cloverdale Middle School would be relocated to a McClellan site that is not satisfactory for the high school. Carl Baxmeyer, a principal for Fanning-Howey, said later that the auditorium and gymnasium at McClellan are in good condition and could be used in addition to new classrooms by a middle school. He also said that the soil at the current Cloverdale site is unsatisfactory and the school is sinking despite efforts to stabilize it. Parents, children and faculty members from Carver Magnet Elementary sat quietly throughout the meeting holding paper signs that said Save Our School: Keep Carver Magnet Elementary. Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, argued to the board that the consultants study was incompetent, in part because of its recommendations regarding Carver and Rockefeller, and he told the board not to act in haste. Superintendent Dexter Suggs said later in the meeting that he would be reluctant to close or even convert Carver into a pre-kindergarten center because the math and science specialty school is one of the higher achieving schools in the district. He suggested that steps be taken to increase the enrollment at the school, which is in an industrial part of the city near Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field. In regard to the steering committee, Suggs asked each of the seven School Board members to nominate two people from their election zones to serve on the committee. In addition, representatives of the Little Rock Education Association, which is the teacher and support staff employee union in the district, and the Parent Teacher Association Council will be invited to serve. Additional committees of community leaders, school district leaders, financial advisers, and media and marketing advisers will be formed to support the effort to raise money for the finalized building plan. The current property tax rate for the school district is 46.4 mills. The last tax increase for schools in the district was in 2000. Metro on 08/29/2014
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:38:46 +0000