Raising beginning teacher salaries and requiring all school districts to provide preschool for 4-year-olds were among preliminary recommendations Wednesday for improving Arkansas' public education system.
Locally, the recommendations were welcome, although there was some concern over where to get the funding.
Lee Vent, superintendent of the Forrest City School District, said gains have been made in teacher salaries, but more needs to be done.
"It's something you need to do to attract and retain good teachers," Vent said. "We don't want to slide backward. Teacher recruitment is such a competitive market now. Neighboring states are offering signing bonuses. And every state, I think that borders Arkansas has a lower cutoff score on the teacher's exam."
He said the commission's recommendations are good ones.
"Far too many teachers exit the state each year, that we train in Arkansas Schools with Arkansas tax dollars, and we need to do something to keep them within the borders," Vent said.
At the same time, Vent said the economy is not cooperating.
"I know the governor is projecting an increase in revenue for next year, and reality says that's going to be a very difficult goal to attain," he said.
Vent added that the Forrest City schools have already been hit with one cut.
Gov. Mike Huckabee announced Wednesday that even more cuts are on the way.
The recommendations came from subcommittees of the Arkansas Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education, a 25-member panel created by the Legislature in 2001 in anticipation of a court ruling in a school funding case.
None of the recommendations came with funding suggestions and none was voted on by the full commission. Subcommittee chairmen said they had more recommendations to consider.
Under another recommendation, every school district would be required to provide a free early-childhood education program for all 4-year-olds, with minimum uniform curriculum standards utilizing certified teachers.
Again, Vent said the idea is a good one. "I've always been a strong advocate of pre-school," he said. "The record speaks for itself. The best learning years are the first learning years."
The proposal would allow schools to contract with existing providers for early-childhood education programs, as long as the providers met the criteria.
The Blue Ribbon Commission's work took on added significance when Chancellor Collins Kilgore ruled May 25, 2001, that the Arkansas school funding formula is inequitable and inadequate.
The state has appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court.
Under the preliminary recommendations presented Wednesday, beginning salaries for Arkansas teachers would rise from $24,000 to $30,000 by the 2008-2009 school year -- by $2,000 every other year, beginning in 2004.
The proposals also included incentives for teachers to take hard-to-fill positions, such as science and math, or teach in locations that are hard-pressed to attract teachers. They also would remove disincentives for retired teachers to return to the classroom.
Another recommendation calls for any school district that does not meet a required core curriculum or minimum teachers' salaries by September 2003 to be dissolved and reorganized with surrounding districts by July 2004. Incentives would be provided to schools that voluntarily consolidate by September 2003.
The commission is to present recommendations to the Legislature by July 1.
A Forrest City man was shot in the leg at a local nightclub Thursday.
Calvin Joyce, 33, 224 Dooley, told officers with the Forrest City Police Department that he was at Billy Ray's at 106 N. Grant Street in Forrest City when he was shot by a black male suspect about 11:30 p.m.
According to the police report, Joyce said the suspect approached him, put a gun in his face and told him to drop charges against a third subject. Joyce told police he knocked the gun down and the suspect allegedly shot him in the leg.
Police were notified of the shooting after Joyce had arrived back home. Police found the victim sitting on his back porch with a gunshot wound to his lower left leg. Joyce told police he had ridden his bicycle home after the shooting.
Joyce was transported by ambulance to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City where he was treated and released.
A county inmate escaped this morning from a work crew on Garland Street in Forrest City.
The St. Francis County Sheriff's Department reported just after 8 a.m. that Alejandro Jose Plata, 24, had walked away from a crew picking up cardboard near the Times-Herald.
Plata is described as a Hispanic male who is five feet and seven inches tall. He was wearing an orange jail-issued jumpsuit when he fled, according to officials at the St. Francis County Jail.
Plata, of Chandler, Ariz., was arrested by Arkansas State Police on April 10, on charges of no driver's license, fictitious tags, no insurance and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in property damage.
East Arkansas Community College will present a patriotic program featuring the United States Secretary of the Navy, The Honorable Gordon R. England, and Sergeant Major Alford L. McMichael, Sergeant Major of the United States Marine Corps, at the Forrest City High School Mustang Arena on Monday, April 22, 2002 at 10:30 a.m.
An event for invited guests, honoring Mr. England and Sergeant Major McMichael, is planned on the East Arkansas Community College campus later in the day for EACC faculty, staff and students.
"At this point in our nation's history, this is such a wonderful opportunity and honor for the citizens of Forrest City to have in their midst such accomplished and patriotic men," said Beth Bridgforth, EACC Director of Continuing Education. "Their message is timely and will be a source of inspiration to all who attend. We are honored that EACC could play a role in welcoming two Americans who have contributed so much to the welfare of our nation. We encourage everyone to attend this exciting event."