Card

T he J ournal of T he a rkansas s chool B oards a ssociaT ion

News and Features

10

ASBA’s Dan Farley remembered

Dan Farley, who led ASBA for 14 years and served it for 34 total, died March 8, but his impact on the association and public education lives on.

12

Cover / Storm breaks buildings, not spirit

On March 31, a tornado destroyed most of Wynne High School. No one was killed, and the district lost five days of school. Here’s the story of what happened, how the district responded, and what happens next.

18

Cover / Wynne plans two schools of thought

When Wynne High School students return to school July 24, it will be on a temporary campus that as of May 21 was an empty field once housing a trailer park. Meanwhile, the district is planning its new permanent high school while asking voters to increase the district’s millage by 4.9 mills.

22

Session a LEARNS experience

One hundred nineteen of the 196 education-related bills tracked by ASBA in the 94th General Assembly became law, but none attracted more attention or will have more of an impact than the LEARNS Act.

28

Policy service updated; more to come

ASBA Policies Director Lucas Harder completed the updates to the Model Policy Service May 1 in order to give districts time to update their own policies, even though much of the LEARNS Act’s provisions must be fleshed out through the rules and regulation process.

Funding could fall for many schools 30

Funding levels could drop significantly in the coming years because of the end of COVID dollars and because of various demographic factors, while schools can use data to better serve students. Those were some of the topics covered at the AAEA and ASBA Joint Leadership Conference May 2.

The Journal of The arkansas school Boards associaTion

Vol. 17, Number 2 June 2023

by Dr. Tony Prothro

The 94th General Assembly has just ended, and it marks many changes for Arkansas public schools. Change is most often accompanied by a feeling of discomfort, but it is many times a portal to new ideas and opportunities.

Many public school advocates have fought a long battle against taxpayer funding of home schools and private schools. However, the recent legislative session has now greatly blurred the lines between private schools, home schools, and public schools – at least for funding purposes. I believe it is an opportune time for public education leaders to rethink our role and objectives for students’ education. We have to a large extent focused solely on those children who attend our public schools. However, there are many other children in most communities who are receiving an education outside of public schools. We see these children in our parks, our grocery stores, our churches, and in our neighborhoods.

I have experienced and have heard stories of less than favorable home school and private school situations and outcomes. At the same time, you only must look across our state to realize that many of our public schools are not faring so well either. Every time a student does not leave school (regardless of the setting) with the basic skills needed to be a success in life, it affects our com- munity, our state, and the nation as a whole. This may be a time to not think of our students as only those walking through the doors of our traditional public school facilities, but to also extend our vision and services to all of those students within our communities. We may now have a window to reach out and develop relationships to positively impact students within our communities.

Many parents of home school students may need classes and educational experiences offered in traditional public schools. Dialogues between the various forms of educational institutions might result in a strengthening of relationships that could positively affect many students. Partnerships between private schools, home schools and traditional public schools may be advantageous to everyone. There are already mechanisms in place to allow private and home school students an opportunity to attend classes at public schools. This is a definite advantage financially to the public schools for the classes attended and it is also advantageous to the students to whom those opportunities are afforded.

I encourage board members and administrators to “think outside the box” with the implementation of the outcomes of the legislative session. It starts with conversations and a positive frame of mind with a focus on what is best for all our students.

Board of Directors President: William Campbell, McGehee

President-elect: Randy Hutchinson, Springdale

Vice President: Jeff Lisenby, Sheridan

Secretary-Treasurer: Doris Parham, Bearden

Past President: Rosa Bowman, Ashdown

Region 1: Travis Warren, Farmington

Region 2: Mitchell Archer, Bergman

Region 3: Joe Sheppard, Jonesboro

Region 4: Craig Frost, Clarksville

Region 5: Clint Hull, Pottsville

Region 6: Nikki King, Pangburn

Region 7: Kristain Dedmon, Osceola

Region 8: Jereme Carter, Carlisle

Region 9: Donna Dunlap, Barton-Lexa

Region 10: Mark Curry, Lake Hamilton

Region 11: Carl “Buddy” Puckett, Poyen

Region 12: Laura Clark, Blevins

Region 13: Open

Region 14: Jerry Daniels, Warren

Staff

Executive Director: Dr. Tony Prothro

Board Development Director: Tammie Reitenger

Governmental Relations Director: Dan Jordan

Finance Director: Diana Woodward

Communications and Technology Director: Sherri Fite

Staff Attorney: Kristen Garner

Policy Director: Lucas Harder

Database Administrator: Kathy Ivy

Commercial Affiliates/Board Liaison Manager: Angela Ellis

Bookkeeper: Kayla Orr

TIPS-TAPS Project Manager: Stacey McPherson

General Counsel: Jay Bequette

Risk Management Program & Workers’ Comp. Program:

Shannon Moore, Director

Krista Glover

Dwayne McAnally

Misty Thompson

Melody Tipton

Linda Collins

Lisa Wigginton

Kara Quinton

Julianne Dobson

Tamra Polk

TO CONTACT THE MAGAZINE

Please contact Steve Brawner, Editor 501.847.7743; brawnersteve@mac.com

Report Card is published quarterly by the Arkansas School Boards Association. Copyright 2023 by the Arkansas School Boards Association and Steve Brawner Communications. All rights reserved.