Plenty of students have had school choice all along; they simply and easily take over a utility bill of another home/location in the district or zone they want. They may use that of a relative or friend, some with more means rent an apartment or have rental property with the sole purpose of using the zones schools. Parents walk around in fear, not inviting people to their homes, having birthday parties away from their real residences, telling in hushed tones of their crimes with the listeners full empathy and understanding. PCSSD is kidding themselves, just as LRSD did for years, if they think they are preventing anything from happening. Those who really want in, get in. Those who really want out, get out. Always have, always will. For those in PCSSD who cannot, the situation is oppressive and autocratic. From the Arkansas Democrat Gazette - Guest column Compete for students; don’t trap them By GARY NEWTON SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETT On February 27, the Little Rock School Board heard its attorney recommend that, with the recently approved desegregation settlement agreement, the district had “no legal basis” to exempt from the Public School Choice Act of 2013. The board then voted unanimously to accept its administration’s and attorney’s recommendation to fully participate in choice for the 2014-15 school year. The North Little Rock School District, which was subject to similar court orders as Little Rock, chose not to exempt from choice in 2013-14. Little Rock’s decision now leaves the state-appointed superintendent of the state-controlled Pulaski County Special School District isolated in the county in denying students the opportunity to attend the public schools which best suit their needs, even though PCSSD has been declared unitary by the District Courtin regard to student assignment. Act 1227 of 2013, sponsored by state Senator Johnny Key of Mountain Home, repealed the Public School Choice Act of 1989 and incorporated a new system of public school choice in Arkansas. It went into effect April 16, 2013. Excluding Little Rock, 22 of 238 school districts in Arkansas exempted from choice for the 2013-14 school year. The question becomes: If Little Rock, which has essentially been under federal court supervision for over 50 years, has “no legal basis” to exempt, who does? These are the districts that claimed an exemption: Arkadelphia, Blytheville, Camden Fairview, Cutter Morning Star, Dollarway, El Dorado, Forrest City, Fountain Lake, Helena-West Helena, Hope, Hot Springs, Jessieville, Junction City, Lake Hamilton, Lakeside (Chicot), Lakeside (Garland), Marvell-Elaine, Mountain Pine, Pulaski County Special, South Conway, Stephens, and Texarkana. Here are some startling observations regarding the minority of districts exempting from choice: -Ten have 22 Needs Improvement Priority Schools (lowest performing 42 schools in Arkansas) -Seven of seven public school districts in Garland County exempt from choice (30 percent of total) -Two of five districts in Fiscal Distress and State Takeover exempt from choice At the Little Rock School Board meeting, Zone 5 Member Jody Carreiro was outraged that the Pulaski County Special School District would deny its students the opportunity to enroll in Little Rock’s magnet schools. However late to the party, Mr. Carreiro is not alone. It is inexplicable to most why the Arkansas Department of Education would allow any of its appointed superintendents running state-controlled districts to unilaterally exempt from a law duly passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor. To demonstrate the absurdity of PCSSD’s continued exemption, consider: -Its attorneys and state-appointed superintendent unsuccessfully fought a charter initiated by Little Rock School District parents who had no secondary schools, while denying their students entry to PCSSD schools closest to their homes. -Its attorneys and state-appointed superintendent unsuccessfully fought renewal of Academics Plus Charter School on the basis of demographics, even though the school’s minority population exceeds that of the city of Maumelle where it is located. In the next breath, they admitted that with the new Desegregation Settlement, PCSSD’s Maumelle High School’s demographics will soon reflect its community. Without school choice, PCSSD is denying African Americans and other minorities the opportunity to attend its majority white schools. -Speaking of the desegregation settlement, even though the attorney general said he wanted no conditions and the LRSD and NLRSD wanted open choice, PCSSD’s state-appointed superintendent inexplicably got them to agree to only 30 legal transfers among the districts a year, capped at 150 over five years. -The state-appointed superintendent also wrested a condition in the agreement that would force the state to oppose any new districts, save the proposed Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District, being created from the current PCSSD (e.g., Sherwood, Maumelle). -The state-appointed superintendent’s previous district, Camden Fairview, also exempts from choice. The deadline for districts to declare an exemption for the 2014-15 school year is April 1. Parents in affected districts should insist that their respective boards compete for their students, instead of trapping them. Gary Newton is president and CEO of ArkansasLearns.org, a private sector alliance for excellence in education. Perspective, Pages 81 on 03/16/2014
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 15:55:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015