By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A move to increase parental involvement in the Forrest City School District will begin in August with a series of one-hour orientation sessions at local schools.
According to a letter from the district to parents, parents of all students enrolled in the Forrest City School District for the 2004-2005 school year will be required to attend a parent orientation session prior to the first day of school, which is Aug. 19.
According to FCSD Superintendent Lee Vent, any student whose parent or guardian does not attend one of the sessions will not be allowed to enroll for the new school year.
"Basically, if the parents don't attend one of the orientation sessions or make an attempt to get in contact with the school their child is attending, then that child, or those children, will not be allowed to enroll for the next school year until the parent has been contacted and makes an attempt to meet with their child's school," Vent said.
Vent said that the orientation effort is part of the district's effort to come into compliance with Act 603, which requires increased parent involvement with students.
"We will make every effort to contact all of our parents and we want the parents to be involved with our students. Academics are very serious and we must have parental involvement," he said.
According to Vent, district officials have set their expectations at reaching 100 percent of the parents and guardians in the FCSD, while realizing there may be some difficult cases.
"We will have some of those parents who don't attend and may not be concerned, but we're going to work to reach 100 percent of the parents and guardians in the school district. We need more parental involvement, and we feel that if we can reach those parents and show them the need for education and get them to become more involved, then we can reach more of the children," Vent said.
The parent orientation sessions will begin on Wednesday, Aug. 4, with hourly sessions beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 6 p.m. at the Forrest City Junior High School.
The next sessions will be held on Thursday, Aug. 12, and Friday Aug. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on each campus. Two more sessions will be held on Monday, Aug. 16, and Tuesday, Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at each school, with the final orientation sessions being held on Wednesday, Aug. 18, at 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. at district schools.
The Forrest City School District is not the lone district in the county which has made changes to increase parental involvement. According to Palestine-Wheatley School District Superintendent John Manning, the district formed a committee of district personnel and parents which has been working to increase parental involvement.
"Last year we formed a committee which took up the task of getting the parents more involved, and they came up with the idea of having an individual at each school who will be charged with working with the parents. We need as much parental input as we can get, and we're looking for good things from our parents and our committee," Manning said.
Hughes School District Superintendent Dr. Randy Crowder was not available for comment.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
School supplies are something that many people don't think of as being needed by children of low income families, but it can be just as hard to provide these items as it is clothing and food. The Crowley's Ridge Development Council, Inc. is working again this summer to help provide needed school supplies to some children in the area.
The CRDC's Supply Our Schools program is working to supply the children of low income families with basic school supplies.
Angela Wilburn of CRDC spoke about the efforts of the organization. "Supply Our Schools is a yearly program that we run. The area we serve includes St. Francis, Cross and Poinsett counties. The program tries to provide the essential supplies, such as pencils, paper, crayons and scissors, to as many children in need as we can. We are also accepting donations of used backpacks that are in good condition.
"Parents who are interested in getting their children in the program need to show proof of income, proof of all people living in the household and they need to fill out a short application form. You must meet the income requirements according to the CRDC Family Services Center Poverty Guidelines," Wilburn added.
According to Wilburn, donations are vital to the program. "We welcome donations both of the supplies themselves or of money. They are greatly appreciated, and we encourage local businesses and individuals to donate if they can. Donations can be dropped off at our office located at 247 North Division in Forrest City. Mike Easley's office is also a drop-off point. We are currently looking for more businesses to participate as drop-off points. If you are interested, please contact me."
Wilburn said applications for the program are available from her office. The last day that donations will be accepted will be Thursday, July 15. For more information on the Supply Our School program or to become a drop-off point, contact Wilburn at 870-630-0193.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
State Rep. Danny Ferguson said this morning that the Friday decision by the Arkansas Supreme Court to take itself out of the Lake View case came as a great relief to him and other legislators.
He also said many lawmakers may have felt a bit of vindication after taking a lot of flack during and after a lengthy special session on education.
"I'm not sure the average member of the public realizes what a divisive session that was," said Ferguson. "First of all you had consolidation issues, that pitted small schools against large schools. There was also a large tax increase that the legislature had to pass. We had to address accountability, curriculum and teacher pay -- a lot of really tough issues -- at a time when the economy had not totally bounced back to the level it had been three years previously."
The Lake View School District had sued the state in 1992, saying Arkansas failed to ensure districts were being funded evenly. It was also questioned whether Arkansas spent enough money to ensure an adequate education for all.
A Pulaski County chancellor ruled in May 2001 against the state, saying the funding system was inadequate and inequitable. The Supreme Court in November 2002 largely upheld the chancellor's decision and gave Arkansas until Jan. 1 of this year to find remedies. The Legislature missed that deadline, but continued meeting.
Ferguson, who will be leaving office at the end of the year due to term limits, said there were enormous pressures on the legislators.
"I think most of us felt that if we failed to address Lake View, we were looking at the possibility of the state taking over the school system. And I think everyone, in large and small schools, felt that would be the worst case," said Ferguson.
"But I'd have to say it was a relief to see the court's majority ruling the other day," Ferguson continued. "It definitely means that there is only a tiny chance of any other special session this year, at least regarding education."
The divisiveness of the issue made it hard to get things done, he said.
"For instance, the consolidation issue," he said. "There was heated debate that small schools can give as good an education as larger schools. The flip side was, 'yes, but can we afford to keep all these small districts funded?' There were good arguments on all sides.
"And raising that huge amount of taxes was no fun," Ferguson continued, acknowledging that new taxes are never popular -- at least not with the ones being taxed. "The legislature took one step, and at the first of July, some goods and services that have been exempt from sales taxes will start collecting them...Several revenue packages were looked at. The bottom line is, the sales tax is the only tax that can be raised with a simple majority. The rest requires 75 percent."
The reforms created a new $2.7 billion school-funding formula and approved $370 million in new taxes to pay for curriculum improvements, accountability standards and administrative structure.
One issue remaining will probably be dealt with after Ferguson leaves the legislature.
"Of course, one thing still out there is the facilities issue," he said. "The court did document that the issue was still out there."
Every school building in the state is being evaluated.
"There is a program to come back with an estimate of what it will take to bring all the facilities up and be equitable," he said. "And the next General Assembly will have to address how to pay for that."
After all was said and done, Ferguson insisted, the legislature had no choice but to take action, even if that action was unpopular.
"I hope the citizens realize, that the legislature simply had to do something in that session," he said. "We were under a Supreme Court mandate. The choice was not either to do it or not to do it. Because if we hadn't done it -- you can look at the cost to the state when courts took over the Little Rock district. If the legislature had not fulfilled its responsibility the courts could have taken over. That takes decisions out of the democratic process, where at least citizens have the opportunity to contact their representatives. There is no way to call a Supreme Court justice with your opinion.
"The court taking over would have been more expensive. And there was a lot of debate. But the end result was, the legislature buckled down and did what it had to do," Ferguson said.
The Supreme Court decision was not unanimous, but a narrow 4-3.
In a dissent, Justice Donald Corbin said it was wrong to close the case because Arkansas' schools were still in crisis.
''I also do not agree with the majority that we should simply presume that government officials are going to do what they say they're going to do,'' Corbin wrote.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
After 18 months, Forrest City's pursuit of becoming an ACE (Arkansas Community of Excellence) community is nearing completion. The program, which is administered through the Arkansas Department of Economic Development, is designed to help Arkansas communities identify their strengths and weaknesses.
Tiffany Billingsley, the ACE community coordinator for Forrest City stated that the process is ahead of schedule. "We began this in January 2003," said Billingsley. "We are now very near completion. It takes most cities two years to complete their ACE components, and we are on track to complete our components ahead of schedule."
Billingsley explained that the components include a list of areas that the community thinks need improvement. Ten components were selected at a public meeting in 2003, and there was a committee set up to address each problem.
Of the 10 components, Billingsley stated that four had been completed. "We have completed the Education, Healthcare, Established Business and Industry Program, and the Manufacturing/Distribution components. There are check lists provided by Economic Development for each component. They are all different. An example is the Established Business and Industry Program component. We were required to begin a visitation program for business and industry leaders to promote our area. We are required to meet all of the items on the checklist to complete a component.
"We are so very close on our other six components, Housing, Workforce Development, Community Beautification, Tourism, Leadership Training and Commercial Development," continued Billingsley. "We are hoping that we will have them completed in the next two months, which would mean the process would be completed in 20 months, instead of the usual 24."
According to Billingsley, the improvements that take place for a community to become an ACE Community are not shortlived, and the designation is dependent on the continued efforts of the community.
"After all of the elements are in place, we become an ACE Community for one year," said Billingsley. "We are then reevaluated every year thereafter. A lot of people think that we get a sign at the city limits that says we are an ACE Community and that is it. Economic Development follows up with us to make sure we are following our plan. The goal of the program is to keep Forrest City moving in the right direction and to improve our community."
A Texas man was arrested Friday on several charges, including drugs and cruelty to animals, after a traffic stop.
According to the report from the Arkansas State Police, a pickup pulling a horse trailer eastbound near the 241 mile marker was pulled over for allegedly driving on both shoulders.
It was found that the driver, Jason Bradly Boykin, 22, of Avalon, Texas, was driving on a suspended license. He was issued citations for the traffic offenses. After a K-9 unit alerted on the horse trailer, an estimated 970 pounds of marijuana was found in a false compartment in the trailer.
In addition, a horse in the trailer was injured on one leg and between its eyes.
Also, according to the report, at State Police headquarters, Boykin allegedly attempted to throw away a pipe for smoking methamphetamine, and allegedly admitted to having some meth on his person.
Boykin is charged with driving on a suspended driver's license, improper lane use, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, cruelty to animals and possession of drug paraphernalia.