National

State Board Votes to Take Over Little Rock School District

Published

9 years ago

January 29, 2015

In this Jan. 13, 2014, file photo, a school bus is parked near Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. Arkansas education officials are scheduled to decide whether to assume control of the Little Rock School District after students at some of its schools performed poorly on state benchmark exams. The Arkansas Board of Education will hold a special meeting Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015 in Little Rock to discuss the proposed takeover and potentially take action. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

ALLEN REED, Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Board of Education voted Wednesday to take control of Little Rock schools less than six months after a federal judge granted more independence to the historically embattled district and ended a quarter-century of payments to boost integration.

The state last year classified six of the district’s 48 schools as being in academic distress after fewer than half of the students attending them scored at proficient levels on achievement tests. About 45 percent of high school students in the district are at campuses designated as underperforming. The Little Rock School District is the state’s largest with nearly 25,000 students.

The board’s 5-4 decision at a special meeting in Little Rock followed nearly four hours of public testimony from students, teachers and community members who overwhelmingly opposed the takeover.

“If I break my arm, you don’t put my whole body in a cast,” said state Sen. Joyce Elliott, a Little Rock Democrat. “That’s kind of where we are with six schools; it’s not the entire district.”

Three of the six schools are high schools, two are middle schools and one is an elementary school.

The education board voted to immediately remove the seven-member Little Rock School District board. The superintendent, Dexter Suggs, will remain on an interim basis and report to the state Department of Education commissioner. State education officials also voted to create an advisory committee of parents, students, business leaders and other community members.

The judge in August signed an order that will stop payments the state has been making to the district since 1989. The district sued the state in 1982, alleging state policies were still creating a racial imbalance despite changes made since nine black teenagers were escorted into Central High School by federal troops in 1957.

State board members who advocated the change said they want to provide a better education to the students in the underperforming schools and expressed concerns about the district’s ability to budget properly after the integration payments stop in 2018.

“The district will be forced to make many difficult decisions in the future including the removal of staff and closing of schools,” said board member Vicki Saviers, who submitted the takeover motion.

Board chairman Samuel Ledbetter, who cast the tiebreaking vote, said students won’t see an instant change but he hopes to quickly improve the distressed schools. He said the state’s takeover only concerns the board’s wish to improve each of the six schools, and is not a statement on the Little Rock district’s lingering racial issues, which have provided a backdrop in the district for decades.

“It’s a dark past in our state but we’re so far past that,” Ledbetter said after the meeting. “It’s a diverse board and no vote in this board has taken place along racial lines.”

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

6 days ago

April 19, 2024

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.

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Commentary

Commentary: Republican Votes Are Threatening American Democracy

In many ways, it was great that the Iowa Caucuses were on the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We needed to know the blunt truth. The takeaway message after the Iowa Caucuses where Donald Trump finished more than 30 points in front of Florida Gov. De Santis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley boils down to this: Our democracy is threatened, for real.

Published

1 week ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

It was strange for Iowans to caucus on MLK day. It had a self-cancelling effect. The day that honored America’s civil rights and anti-discrimination hero was negated by evening. That’s when one of the least diverse states in the nation let the world know that white Americans absolutely love Donald Trump. No ifs, ands or buts.

By Emil Guillermo

In many ways, it was great that the Iowa Caucuses were on the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

We needed to know the blunt truth.

The takeaway message after the Iowa Caucuses where Donald Trump finished more than 30 points in front of Florida Gov. De Santis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley boils down to this: Our democracy is threatened, for real.

And to save it will require all hands on deck.

It was strange for Iowans to caucus on MLK day. It had a self-cancelling effect. The day that honored America’s civil rights and anti-discrimination hero was negated by evening.

That’s when one of the least diverse states in the nation let the world know that white Americans absolutely love Donald Trump. No ifs, ands or buts.

No man is above the law? To the majority of his supporters, it seems Trump is.

It’s an anti-democracy loyalty that has spread like a political virus.

No matter what he does, Trump’s their guy. Trump received 51% of caucus-goers votes to beat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who garnered 21.2%, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who got 19.1%.

The Asian flash in the pan Vivek Ramaswamy finished way behind and dropped out. Perhaps to get in the VP line. Don’t count on it.

According to CNN’s entrance polls, when caucus-goers were asked if they were a part of the “MAGA movement,” nearly half — 46% — said yes. More revealing: “Do you think Biden legitimately won in 2020?”

Only 29% said “yes.”

That means an overwhelming 66% said “no,” thus showing the deep roots in Iowa of the “Big Lie,” the belief in a falsehood that Trump was a victim of election theft.

Even more revealing and posing a direct threat to our democracy was the question of whether Trump was fit for the presidency, even if convicted of a crime.

Sixty-five percent said “yes.”

Who says that about anyone of color indicted on 91 criminal felony counts?

Would a BIPOC executive found liable for business fraud in civil court be given a pass?

How about a BIPOC person found liable for sexual assault?

Iowans have debased the phrase, “no man is above the law.” It’s a mindset that would vote in an American dictatorship.

Compare Iowa with voters in Asia last weekend. Taiwan rejected threats from authoritarian Beijing and elected pro-democracy Taiwanese vice president Lai Ching-te as its new president.

Meanwhile, in our country, which supposedly knows a thing or two about democracy, the Iowa caucuses show how Americans feel about authoritarianism.

Some Americans actually like it even more than the Constitution allows.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a mini-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1.