School officials in Arkansas know there are some major changes coming, but they've learned nothing specific on precisely what that means, according to Forrest City School Superintendent Lee Vent.
Vent is attending a symposium for school superintendents, sponsored by the Arkansas Association of School Administrators, in Little Rock.
Vent said this morning that Gov. Mike Huckabee, who spoke to the group Wednesday, "was very general in his remarks, and really put a lot of emphasis on his State of the State message next week, to reveal the specifics on how we should deal with the state Supreme Court's decision on the Lake View lawsuit."
Huckabee, who plans to announce a major school restructuring plan when the Legislature convenes next week, told school administrators Wednesday that some may have to sacrifice careers to advance educational opportunities for children -- perhaps even himself.
'I'm quite aware of the fact that what we're going to end up doing will probably ... upend any political viability that I may ever have in my life,'' Huckabee said. ''I'm being more honest with you than perhaps I want to be. But I've got to be willing to lay down any political hope to get it done.''
Vent said the lack of specific information continued this morning.
"The Attorney General-elect, Mike Beebe, spoke at breakfast," said Vent. "He is one of the proponents of the current funding formula, which allowed us to use excess debt service millage to reach the 25-mill minimum requirement. However, the Supreme Court in its ruling also denied a petition to rehear the portion that allows excess debt service to be used to reach the minimum."
He said there have been several speakers, and today the superintendents will hear from Ray Simon, director of the State Department of Education, among others.
"We are getting a lot of information, but there is no prescribed way that we are going to go about doing this (meeting the court mandate)," said Vent. "Everybody has ideas, but I think right now they're all Band-Aids. But with the Legislature coming to town next week, we hope they'll be working diligently."
He said the message most of the speakers at the symposium are trying to get across is how serious the situation actually is.
"Educators basically know about it," Vent said. "The citzenry has heard about it, but is not informed on all the details and the effect this will have on education in Arkansas."
Randy Hughes, superintendent of the Delight School District, said before the governor's speech to the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators that the times require an intensified focus, and a different one for some people.
''We're going to have to begin to consider what is the very best deal we can make for our community,'' Hughes said. ''For us as administrators, we may have to look past our own self-interest and look at the interests of our patrons, our towns and our kids.''
Consolidation is a concern for many small districts, said Bertram Garmon, superintendent of the Walker School District in southern Arkansas. He said maintaining the 200-student, 70-year-old district was key to the survival of the Walker community, near Magnolia in Columbia County.
Huckabee pressed the need for change a day after giving strong indications that his restructuring plan could mean consolidation. He admonished school administrators Wednesday that job security should not be their top priority as the state moves to fulfill the court mandate.
''The mission is the success of children, not the preservation of our institutions as we know them,'' the governor told a state meeting of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators. ''We're going to have to be willing to make huge sacrifices of our personal goals for the greater public good and to meet the challenge that the court has laid before us.''
The state Supreme Court struck down Arkansas' method of funding public schools in November, declaring the system unfair and inadequate. The court gave the state until Jan. 1, 2004, to develop a system that provides equal educational opportunities for all of its 450,000 public school students.
Huckabee said the mandate meant a fundamental shift in authority over public education from the local districts to the state, which he said will in the future be responsible for distribution of school aid, spending at the local level -- from teacher salaries to facilities and equipment -- and the academic results.
He also urged legislators to join him in putting aside political aspirations and focusing on doing the right thing for children.
''If we're willing to do the right thing, we may have to sacrifice our own political futures in order to do something bigger for the kids of this state,'' he said.
The high court last year declared Arkansas' school system unconstitutional for the second time in 20 years. Experts estimate that the price tag for educational improvements to meet the court order could reach $1 billion annually.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Counties and communities across the state and nation are making preparations to vaccinate citizens against smallpox should an outbreak occur, and according to Bonnie Dodson with the St. Francis County Health Department, St. Francis County is prepared.
In Arkansas, 74 counties have completed tentative plans for providing smallpox vaccinations should an outbreak occur. According to Dodson, plans in St. Francis County would call for all citizens of the county to be vaccinated within 10 days of the first case in the county or a national outbreak.
"We're prepared to vaccinate everyone in the county against smallpox should a case show up in St. Francis County or should there be a terrorist act involving smallpox. Our post-event plan, which augments state and national plans, would provide the vaccination to every individual in the county within 10 days," Dodson said.
As part of the federal vaccination plan announced by President George Bush in December, 10,108 health care and military workers in Arkansas will be vaccinated beginning late this month. According to Dodson, once the program starts in St. Francis County, residents will also be able to volunteer for the vaccination as part of the pre-event plan.
"Once we've received the vaccination, we'll start on the four-stage federal program which allows for voluntary vaccination for citizens. We're now working on stage one of the program, and we'll continue to work with the federal government to try to ensure safety," Dodson said.
In a survey released Wednesday by the National Association of Counties and National Association of County and City Health Officials, approximately four out of five responding counties said they're more adequately able to respond to a bioterrorist attack than they were a year ago. In January 2001, more than 90 percent said they were not prepared to respond to bioterrorism. More than 2,600 public health departments were questioned in the survey conducted by National Research Inc., resulting in 500 responses from 44 states.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Two budget ordinances, new police equipment and continued discussion of a personnel matter from last month were the focus at the Tuesday night meeting of the Colt City Council.
The meeting, which was moved from its regular meeting time on the first Thursday of the month, began with the reading of ordinances for both the city and water department budgets for 2003.
"The first thing we need to do tonight is to adopt the 2003 budgets," City Attorney Steve Routon told council members. "We need to read the water budget especially, because although you voted to pass it last month, we still need to have it read."
Both of the budgets were adopted unanimously with no discussion offered.
In other business, Mayor Virgil Keeler presented a request on behalf of Colt Police Officer John Heckler.
"John has talked to me about purchasing a new hand-held radar for the police department," said Keeler. "The cost is $695. I think that we should approve the purchase because, according to him, the radar we have now works about half the time." The council approved the purchase unanimously after a short discussion.
Councilmen also discussed adding Keith Cofield, a general maintenance worker, as a full-time employee. The matter was tabled last month due to a grass fire that interrupted the meeting.
"He (Cofield) works about 25 to 30 hours a week as a part-time employee," began City Treasurer Bobby Clarkson. "If we add the park maintenance to his duties, I feel that would justify him being hired full-time. We could also have him help me in the water department, I could really use the help." Councilmen agreed with Clarkson's request and voted to give Cofield full-time employment with benefits and at his current rate of pay.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The state legislative session that begins Monday will have a lot on its plate, but one thing will, of necessity, stand out.
"What's looming over the entire session is the Lake View lawsuit decision on public education," said Rep. Danny Ferguson.
The state Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision that the state does not fund public education adequately or fairly.
"In every session, I know, they say it's about money," said Ferguson. "But it really is this time. With an uncertain economy and the threat of a possible war with Iraq, it is going to be a real challenging session. Some of the folks have been saying this may be the toughest session since Arkansas became a state, but I'm sure other legislators have said the same thing."
Ferguson said that Governor Mike Huckabee's proposal for a 5/8 of one percent sales tax was meant, "basically, to carry on the business of the state, without addressing Lake View."
A Blue Ribbon Commission, which was appointed to review Arkansas education, made an estimate of anywhere from around $700 million to $1 billion to correct problems.
"The ability of the legislature to raise $1 billion of new money in a state of 2.7 million people is limited," Ferguson said, "if we go with the high end of the Blue Ribbon Commission's estimates."
Those limitations become obvious when one starts talking about raising large amounts of money, he said. For instance, the state sales tax is the only tax which can be increased with a simple majority vote in the Legislature.
"A 3 percent sales tax would raise about $750 million," Ferguson said. "So if you passed the governor's 5/8 percent tax and came back with a 3 percent tax, it would give the state about a 9 percent sales tax," he said, adding that the 9 percent figure doesn't take into account the local option sales taxes passed by cities and counties over the years.
"It would wreck the economy of Arkansas," he said. "You'd probably see catalog and Internet sales peaking."
Items purchased over the Internet from out-of-state companies are not subject to sales tax at this time.
Ferguson said the Legislature's Education Committee will probably look at more than simply raising money.
"They will not just be looking at raising money and throwing money at the problem. I think consolidation will be considered. There are a lot of ideas out there, and there will be a lot of debate."
He said the Legislature will have to realize that it not only has to address needs, but a court mandate. The high court gave the Legislature until Jan. 4, 2004, to have a plan in place. Ferguson said he wouldn't be surprised if it takes longer than that.
"I think we'll be facing the deadline," he said. "And whatever the Legislature does will probably be challenged in another lawsuit after Jan. 4.
While the Lake View decision will be the major item before lawmakers, Ferguson said there will also be others. For instance, the Department of Corrections is still behind on reimbursing counties for housing state prisoners.
"And one way to raise new money is to eliminate exemptions," said Ferguson, adding that this could cause some controversy. "There are many exemptions in Arkansas, and some of the legislators are saying that no exemption is off the table. There are tons of them -- agriculture, newspapers, lawyers and architects, to name a few. I don't know what will be removed, but there will be an attempt by some legislators to remove some exemptions, in lieu of a general tax increase."
Ferguson also said he wouldn't be surprised if a lottery is interdicted.
"There will be a lot of creative and desperate ways to try to raise funding," he said.
The Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) program will be the subject of a community forum, to be held at the Forrest City Civic Center on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m.
Representatives from the Arkansas Department of Economic Development will be on hand to help facilitate the forum and offer guidance.
The Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) program is the cornerstone of the state's economic development partnerships with local communities. It is a tool used by communities in self-analysis, organization and goal setting. ACE helps communities of all sizes prepare for economic growth and community development in order to improve the area's overall quality of life.
The ACE process focuses on planning. ACE helps communities to recognize opportunity and pursue business that offers economic prosperity. ACE also encourages communities to partner with other towns and state agencies to attain goals.
A Forrest City man was arrested on drug related charges Wednesday night, after he was stopped for a traffic violation.
According to the report by the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department, at about 10:24 p.m., officers observed a pickup truck being driven erratically by Michael D. Williams on SFC 707.
The vehicle was stopped, and the driver allegedly refused to cooperate and resisted arrest. About three grams of methamphetamine were discovered.
Williams, 43, of 69 SFC 721, Forrest City, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, and also with resisting arrest.