{"response":{"docs":[{"id":"bcas_bcmss0837_159","title":"Magnet Review Committee (MRC) meeting, agenda, minutes, handouts,and reports","collection_id":"bcas_bcmss0837","collection_title":"Office of Desegregation Management","dcterms_contributor":null,"dcterms_spatial":["United States, 39.76, -98.5","United States, Arkansas, 34.75037, -92.50044","United States, Arkansas, Pulaski County, 34.76993, -92.3118"],"dcterms_creator":["Arkansas. Department of Education"],"dc_date":["2013-05-14"],"dcterms_description":null,"dc_format":["application/pdf"],"dcterms_identifier":null,"dcterms_language":["eng"],"dcterms_publisher":["Little Rock, Ark. : Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. Central Arkansas Library System"],"dc_relation":null,"dc_right":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"dcterms_is_part_of":["Office of Desegregation Monitoring records (BC.MSS.08.37)","History of Segregation and Integration of Arkansas's Educational System"],"dcterms_subject":["Education--Arkansas","Arkansas. Department of Education","Educational statistics","Education and state","Pulaski County (Ark.)--History--20th century","Magnet schools"],"dcterms_title":["Magnet Review Committee (MRC) meeting, agenda, minutes, handouts,and reports"],"dcterms_type":["Text"],"dcterms_provenance":["Butler Center for Arkansas Studies"],"edm_is_shown_by":null,"edm_is_shown_at":["http://arstudies.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/bcmss0837/id/159"],"dcterms_temporal":null,"dcterms_rights_holder":null,"dcterms_bibliographic_citation":null,"dlg_local_right":["Available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any other use requires permission from the Butler Center."],"dcterms_medium":["agendas (administrative records)","minutes (administrative records)","handbills","reports"],"dcterms_extent":["166 pages"],"dlg_subject_personal":null,"dcterms_subject_fast":null,"fulltext":"\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\nI. Call to Order MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE AGENDA MAY 14, 2013 II. Reading of the Minutes of April 9, 2013 Ill. Executive Director's Report A. Correspondence B. Financial Transactions C. Newspaper Articles D. Recruitment Update E. LRSD Original Magnet Schools Personnel - Vacancies and New Hires IV. Business and/or Action Items Schedule of Magnet Principals Annual Report 8:45 a.m. 9:15 a.m. 9:45 a.m. 10:15 a.m. 10:45 a.m. 11:15 a.m. V. Adjournment CARVER MAGNET - Diane Barksdale BOOKER MAGNET - Dr. Cheryl Carson GIBBS MAGNET - Dr. Felicia Hobbs WILLIAMS MAGNET - Lori Brown MANN MAGNET- Patricia Boykin PARKVIEW MAGNET - Dr. Dexter Booth MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE MINUTES APRIL 9, 2013 The regularly scheduled meeting of the Magnet Review Committee was held in the Magnet Review Committee Office on April 9, 2013, 1920 North Main Street, North Little Rock, Arkansas. Members Present: Bobby Acklin, NLRSD Oliver Dillingham, ADE Danny Reed, ADE Members Absent: Dr. Sadie Mitchell, LRSD Dr. Robert Clowers, PCSSD Joy Springer, Joshua lntervenors Guest: Margie Powell, ODM The meeting was called to order by Acting Chairperson Oliver Dillingham. He immediately called for a reading of the minutes of February 12, 2013. Bobby Acklin made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, and Danny Reed seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Donna Grady Creer provided the Executive Director's report. She noted there were no items in correspondence but several contacts were made via telephone and email. Bills in the amount of $2,559.90 were presented for payment. Ms. Creer provided a brief recap of the expenses. Danny Reed made a motion to pay the bills, and Bobby Acklin seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Newspaper articles since the previous MRC meeting were given to MRC members for their information. Ms. Creer noted that most of these articles were regarding the desegregation case schedule as outlined by the judge. With regard to a recruitment update, Ms. Creer reported that the first round of early enrollment has been completed. Parents have been in contact with the MRC office regarding their placement. Our main concern is losing one class at Booker and one at Carver. Mr. Dillingham asked if it would be feasible to advertise that seats are still available. Donna Creer explained that the MRC Office already does that and informed the Committee members how it is done. The Realtors Table Top is another opportunity to advertise our magnet schools, and Ms. Creer is participating in that event. A discussion was held as to what could be done to get more students to come to magnet schools. Mr. Dillingham wants to make sure that nothing is done to discourage students from applying for magnet schools. Mr. Acklin agrees with Mr. Dillingham for promoting magnet schools, and wants everyone on the waiting list to be able to obtain a seat. Ms. Creer reminded the Committee that Roberts Elementary is not able to have pre-school anymore. She suggested that we might consider allowing students from outside the district to attend Carver and Gibbs and, possibly, initiate a Pre-K program at Williams. There are several end-of-the-school-year programs going on, and Ms. Creer has requested that the schools make an announcement at these events that applications for enrollment are available. MRC members received an invitation to Parkview's art exhibit. Ms. Creer hoped that all would be able to attend. Artistry in the Rock is coming up soon, and there will be an auction to raise funds for scholarships for art students. With regard to vacancies and new hires, there are none to report at the time. -2- Ms. Creer reported that she has been in contact with Dr. _DeJarnette and Dr. Dreyfus with regard to the final edition of the report. The MRC members were reminded that a vote was taken to add the provision for magnet school enrollment to cover sibling preference at the middle school level. This will take place for the 2014-2015 school year. With regard to a schedule for the annual principal's report, May 14, 2013 was selected as the date. All principals will be presenting that day. When no further business was brought before the committee Bobby Acklin made a motion to adjourn. Oliver Dillingham seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 am. -3- From: Crawford, Andreia Sent: Monday, May 13, 2013 4:57 PM To: Price, Deborah Subject: FW: URGENT.. .. CHANGE IN VENUE FOR MRC MEETING TOMORROW Dr. Price 1. The number of African American students assigned to Orchestra at Parkview for the 2012-13 school year (4) from the scramble 2. A total of 12 African American Students applied for Orchestra as their 1st choice, and only 4 were assigned (I only received 7 seats for school year 2012-13 school year) 3. For the 2013-14 projected enrollment for the school year is as follow  9th grade (4-African Americans) (3-Non African American Seats)  10th grade (no seats)  11th grade (no seats)  lih grade (no seats) For the 10th -lih grade shows no vacancies, because of the following reasons, 9th through 11th grade rolls up each year to the next grade level, which do not allow placement are any movement. We also have to take in consideration the students that are being retained for the upcoming school year. Thank you Magnet Review From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Oliver Dillingham (ADE) [Oliver.Dillingham@arkansas.gov] Thursday, May 09, 2013 4:12 PM Mitchell, Sadie (Sadie.Mitchell@lrsd.org)\nMagnet Review\nDonna Creer Oliver Dillingham (ADE) FW: Concern with Parkview Enrollment I have not had a chance or time to read this but wanted you to see it. Oliver Dillingham, Program Manager Arkansas Department of Education Equity Assistance Center Four Capitol Mall, Suite 405-B Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 phone: (501)682-4213 fax: (501)682-5177 From: Evelyn Elizabeth James [mailto:deswamee@sbcglobal.net] Sent: Thursday, May 09, 2013 3:23 PM To: evelyn james Subject: Concern with Parkview Enrollment Hello, My name is Evelyn James and I spoke with you about 2 weeks ago about my concerns with my daughter's ( Emani Archie 3183 31) assignment to Central High School, althought she requested Parkview for 3 different areas. This is the email followup you requested. I've been under the weather My concerns are as follows: 1. My child has been at Mann in the orchestra for 3 years and at King in the orchestra for 5 years and this is her second year playing in the Arkansas Youth Symphony Orchestra's Prelude orchestra. Her being assigned to central, makes her go from developing her talent and being offered more exposure to musical opportunities as well as scholarship opportunites, to taking orchestra as a zero hour class 5 days a week at 7:30 in the morning with 9-12 graders. 2. Very few if any African American Students in orchestral programs in LRSD middle school orchestra programs were assigned to orchestra at Parkview. 3. My child is tagged gifted and Central is not her least restrictive environment nor will allow her to develop her natural talent. She also is mortified of the size of Central and had a panic attack when she went to shadow. 4. Parkview is not at capacity for enrollment, nor at capacity within individual programs. 5. It is odd that the majority of students taking Algebra I in the 8th grade ( accelerated) were assigned to Central. 6. My child has excellent test scores, a high aptitude, is a double minority and gifted. It seems as though going to Central is to help boost their numbers, not what is best for my child. 7. There is no audition process, exception process for kids to get open seats. 8. Kids that were recruited for Parkview did not get in. Perhaps there may be some cherry picking going on from Central administration to get their test scores up, since Parkview's are higher than theirs? I am a single parent. I need my child to thrive in high school to get scholarships for college. I need her to be happy, comfortable and successful. Please advise Evelyn E. James o virus found in this message. Checked by A VG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.2904 I Virus Database: 3162/6310 - Release Date: 05/09/13 2 Magnet Review From: Sent: To: Subject: Donna Creer Friday, May 10, 2013 8:43 AM Magnet Review FW: CONGRATULATIONS ON GRANT! From: Barksdale, Mary [Mary.Barksdale@lrsd.org] Sent: Thursday, May 09, 2013 6:39 PM To: Lorrie Barr Cc: Mitchell, Sadie\nDonna Creer\nYoung, Linda\nSmith, Pamela Subject: Re: CONGRATULATIONS G RANT! Thank you so much for this email. I am sharing it with the LR school district grant coordinator, Linda Young, and the communications director, Pamela Smith, and our associate superintendent, Sadie Mitchell, and Donna Creer, Director of the Magnet Review Committee. I am including Charlotte Cook, Gene Williams and Karen Banks who wrote the grant. Naturally, we are thrilled. Diane Barksdale Sent from my iPad On May 9, 2013, at 3:48 PM, \"Lorrie Barr\" \u0026lt;lbarr@womensfoundationarkansas.org\u0026lt;mailto:lbarr@womensfoundationarkansas.org\u0026gt;\u0026gt; wrote The Women's Foundation hosts Girls of Promise conferences each year for 8th grade girls to encourage their interest in STEM. I was so pleased to read that Carver received a 3M Ingenuity grant to encourage interest in STEM. We posted the announcement on our Girls of Promise Facebook page. I'm sure you have read the media story, but here is one version. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/3m-foundation-awards-2013-ingenuity-grants-2013-05-08 Again, congratulations! Lorrie Barr Women's Foundation of Arkansas 200 River Market Avenue, Suite 100 Little Rock, AR 72201 501-244-9740 (direct) 501-324-2236 (fax) 501-831-3125 (mobile) www.womensfoundationarkansas.org\u0026lt;http://www.womensfoundationarkansas.org\u0026gt; No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.2904 / Virus Database: 3162/6312 - Release Date: 05/09/13 3M Foundation Awards 2013 Ingenuity Grants - MarketWatch Page 1 of 5 Home New Viewer Ma ets lnves ng Trading eek Perso al Finance fe tirement Ee nomy/Politics Indus! El!'fite1s ~lnor Kevwlfi\"l!ol10 Ale~ Latest News v,ewAl!I The Ret11eMentors 11 03a Bill Gross 30-yr bull marl\u0026lt;e!1 11b ond~ hke1yo ver t0.S2::tN -Jtd13P, ric'.ehnil:e1a d ierr,s h1oher 10-Wa Yen gains rai\u0026lt;::a1\u0026lt; suesf N US ccmpan1\"'5- ,1rilhh ,g Ma\n, 10. 2013 11 OE-J..ME DT J~p\n:-1\u0026lt;1e, \u0026gt;PQ~ureG oldrn.anS .Jchs -------------- 1l' P W York LOrYJon To\"Yo DOW +211 NASDAQ +1245 S\u0026amp;P500 +-18 2 Or,en LONDON MARKETS CLOSE IN: 0:22:26 Currencies Futures Metals Stocks press release May B. ~013 2 57 pin EDT 3M Foundation Awards 2013 Ingenuity Grants 31\\11 ST PAUL, Minn., May 08, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The 3M Foundation awarded grants totaling $262,000 to 34 U.S schools as part of its 3M Ingenuity Grant program. The program recognizes teacher teams working across grade levels and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math} disciplines to spark student interest and achievement. The grant, which is offered to public schools in 3M communities and targets grades 1-8, provides funds to purchase materials to bring classroom projects to life. Grant recipients were selected based on an application process that asked teachers to address how their idea aligns with goals for the school district, school and classroom\nteacher collaboration across grades and disciplines, and their ideas to spark student interest and drive achievement by building connections to the world beyond the classroom ''This year, collaboration and integration are the key drivers of the 3M Ingenuity Grants,\" said Barbara Kaufmann, 3M Manager, Education Giving. \"Al 3M. the STEM disciplines work together to drive innovation and the development of new products and technology, and we wanted to encourage teachers from various disciplines to work together to bring innovative teaching methods into their classrooms. We are pleased to help teachers create new and exciting learning opportunities \" Since 2003, 3M has awarded 1,011 Ingenuity Grants, giving more than $3.2 million dollars to schools in 3M communities The grant program is Just one component of 3M's charitable giving to educational causes. As a company built on a culture of innovation, 3M has a keen awareness of the importance of fostering the next generation of innovators, and works to help create future scientists by supporting sludents and educators in STEM fields. The 2013 Ingenuity Grant recipients are ----------------------------------------- l~.ar:ur, AL,. ec,r,:,,-.a E\\mr.Ja'1\"L:r.taIn:lt etrre-:liate ~i.:cno, Call.!. S...\"\"c:!I 1~':1'1!:ntarf E.'l.field, C'onn. Israel [\u0026gt;1.Jtna.'T5. ~,:)01 t-tiriden, C'orv-,. Wa5hl.nqt-:.n Mid::!la ti'!i.:iden, Conn. -------------------------------------------------------- C,:Jg P.r.r:\\'lrSk)Old t-'.iddlc Walling!:d, Conn. PAUL MERRIMAN Vanguard vs. Fidelity Where tS ~-our rnon.'h t,eller off In this he.1,),Y,'t'.'!191\"1 match. one c.vnte~ta,t ~lands ot.\nI  More from the Ri,tiroMcntors  httn-//www.m8rketwatch.com/storv/3m-foundation-awards-2013-ingenuitv-grants-2013-05 .. . 5/10/2013 3M Foundation Awards 2013 Ingenuity Grants - MarketWatch lfut,:h.i.n.c\non, Min.\"!, ------------------------------------------------------- C,.nT:1:ry M.id.1le ------------------------------------ 01 tm.11n t~iddlP. SP C'.JI~ M.h1..11P. rlemingtr..r., N.J. Guni t11 t'a 11!\" Hi\u0026lt;kile ---------------------------------------------------- Lyl,!! Cree\\.: Elanentary Little Miami JUnior Cirv.:.i.M.!lti, Onio tk.rthley 11.iddle\n\\ston, Pa. P.cbert . Olsh.l.on El'!m?ntary G:e'!rwille, s.c. Holqata Middle :i.be?\"do:!enS,. O. ---------------------------------------------------- -------------------- Si.~.s ftiddle ilitv.!~n, S.O. Elk'._,n Elcrrcntu.ry e,\n,J~.ings, 5.0. --------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- ,i \\t, r,'.l.t !:lttwnt,uy Menancnie, WJ. -- - ------------------------------ About 3M Community Giving 3M is not only a company that creates, It is a company that cares 3M Community Giving is helping to improve lives in communities around the world. Celebrating 60 years of formalized giving. 3M and the 3M Foundation have invested more than $1 2 billion in cash and products to education and charitable organizations These donations were bolstered by thousands of employee and retiree volunteers In 2012, 3M awarded $56.6 million to non-profit organizations For more information, visit www.3Mg1vingc om and follow on Twitter @3Mgiv1ng 3M is a trademark of 3M. http://cts businesswirec om/cVCT?1d=bwnews\u0026amp;sty=201305080065r51\u0026amp;7 s1d= cmtx4\u0026amp;distro=nx SOURCE: 3M \"' Copyright Business Wire 2013 COMTEX/ Page 2 of 5 Log In Portfolio Alerts Garne:s htto://www.marketwatch.com/storv/3m-foundation-awards-20l3-ingenuitv-grants-2013-05... 5/10/2013 Magnet Review Committee 1920 North Main Street, Suite 1 01  North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114 (501) 758-0156 {Phone}  (501) 758-5366 {Fax}  magnet@magnetschool.com {E-mail} TO: FROM: THRU: SUBJ: DATE: Dr. Cheryl Carson, Principal - Booker Magnet Diane Barksdale, Principal - Carver Magnet Dr. Felicia Hobbs, Principal - Gibbs Magnet Lori Brown, Principal - Williams Magnet Patricia Boykin, Principal - Mann Magnet Dr. Dexter Booth, Principal - Parkview Magnet ,BGC-- Donna Grady Creer, Executive Director Magnet Review Committee Dr. Sadie Mitchell, MRC Chairperson Associate Superintendent, LRSD Stipulation Magnet Schools Report to the MRC April 18, 2013 Thank you for clearing your calendar and preparing to attend the May 14th MRC meeting. As is customary, this is the meeting during which Stipulation magnet school principals report to the MRC. We look forward to your 20-minute (or less) report, with ten minutes allocated for Questions and Answers. Adhering to this timeline will allow all magnet schools to report during one meeting. For your information, we have attached a REPORT FORM delineating questions to be addressed. In the interest of clarity and brevity, the MRC members have requested that some report items be presented via PowerPoint and some be included as a part of your written report (see attached template for your PowerPoint format). The schedule for time slots will begin at 8:45 a.m. and continue at 30-minute increments. Please let the MRC Office know your preferred time to report, and we will try to fulfill your request as closely as possible. Remember, this is on a first-come/first-serve basis. Thanks again for compiling the information that gives us a glimpse of the current \"STATE OF THE MAGNETS.\" The data in your report is used by our office, MRC members, and their parties, as a quick reference for magnet school information. We appreciate you and your hard work. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. DGC:sl Enclosures: 1) Stipulation Magnet Schools Annual Report Form 2) Template for PowerPoint \"Pursue the Possibilities of Magnet School Enrollment\" SCHOOL: STIPULATION MAGNET SCHOOLS ANNUAL REPORT FORM 2013 PRJNCIPAL'S NAME: e-mail: OTHER ADMINISTRATORS (Asterisk if new): NAME:  e-mail: NAME: e-mail: SCHOOL SECRETARY: direct phone: phone: phone: phone: ......................................................................... CURRENT ENROLLMENT: RACIAL COMPOSITION: LAST YEAR'S ENROLLMENT: __ % B % NB 1. PLEASE BE SPECIFIC AND LIST ANY REQUESTS FOR BUDGET INCREASES. Justify additional staff, reinstatement of staff, programmatic thrusts, etc. 2. SHARE WITH US WHAT YOU HAVE FOCUSED ON IN YOUR ACSIP. A. Please recap how the five-year and two-year improvement plans your school received from the MRC were used to improve your school. Include past, current or planned improvements. 3. PROVIDE STRUCTURAL CHANGES/IMPROVEMENTS (planned, inprogress or completed). 4. REPORT ON CURRICULUM/COURSE OFFERINGS (planned, proposed, or added). 5. DID YOUR SCHOOL MEET A YP? If not, please discuss subpopulations and interventions put in place to address student deficiencies. 6. LIST OUTSTANDING OR NEW RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES. 7. SHARE A RECAP OF HONORS AND/OR AW ARDS WON (staff, school, student). 8. RECAP PARTICIPATION AT NATIONAL, REGIONAL, OR LOCAL CONFERENCES OR INSERVICES. 9. PROVIDE INFORMATION AS TO NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO HA VE WITHDRAWN OR EXITED YOUR SCHOOL'S PROGRAM AND THE REASONS FOR DOING SO. 10. SUPPLY ANY OTHER INFORMATION YOU WISH TO INCLUDE. Stipulation Magnet Principals ANNUAL REPORT to the MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE 2012-2013 (LIST YOUR NAME HERE) (name of school) School website: F acebook/twitter: Principal's Name: E-Mail: Direct Phone Line: Asst. Principal's Name: E-Mail: Direct Phone Line: (Area of responsibility, if applicable): School Secretary: Direct Phone: Counselor: Direct Phone: PT A President: E-Mail: Phone: SCHOOL COMPOSITION Race/ Native African Hispanic/ Multi-ethnicity American Asian American Latino White Ethnic (complete (complete (complete (complete (complete (complete Number your your your your your your of numbers numbers numbers numbers numbers numbers children here) here) here) here) here) here) (complete (complete (complete (complete (complete (complete your your your your your your Number numbers numbers numbers numbers numbers numbers of staff here) here) here) here) here) here) SCHOOL COMPOSITION cont. Grade Configuration: (List total number of students per grade level, by race/ethnicity.) REQUESTS FOR BUDGET INCREASES Faculty /Staff: Curriculum Related Materials: Equipment/Facility: Other (please list): (NOTE: List \"none\" in each category where you are not requesting an increase.) RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report. CURRENT ACSIP FOCUS (Please provide a copy of your current ACSIP report to each MRC member in your written report.) RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT SCHOOL STRUCTURAL CHANGES/IMPROVEMENTS (If any occurred during 2012-13 or are proposed for 2013-14. Do not include any prior to 2012-13.) RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report. CURRICULUM/COURSE OFFERINGS Changes in 2012-13 or Proposed Changes for 2013-14: (NOTE: ONLY changes this year or needed changes next year, not the entire curriculum offered.) RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS (AYP) Achieved/Not Achieved: Overall: Math/Literacy Areas Individually: Subpopulation info: Provide data for the past three years showing achievement gap in math and literacy, in particular, on African-American student achievement. (Provide by grade, race and gender.) LRSD's STRATEGIC PLANNING GOALS Achieved/Not Achieved: (Show evidence for Benchmark performance by grade, race and gender) INTERVENTION OR SUPPORT SERVICES Provided by your school (to students or teachers) to enhance academics, test taking skills or to raise test scores. RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report. RECRUITMENT Outstanding/New Recruitment Activities. RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report. SCHOOLHONORS~WARDS School/Staff /Student Recognitions. Participation at National/Regional/Local Conferences. RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report. WITHDRAWALS Provide number of students who have withdrawn or exited your school's program and the reasons for doing so (by grade, race and gender). DISCIPLINE REPORT Provide report which includes suspensions, expulsions and in-school discipline efforts (by grade, race and gender). ~ MISCELLANEOUS Information you may wish to include but not covered in previous slides) RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report.\nThis project was supported in part by a Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives project grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Council on Library and Information Resoources.\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\u003cdcterms_creator\u003eArkansas. Department of Education\u003c/dcterms_creator\u003e\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n "},{"id":"bcas_bcmss0837_197","title":"Magnet Review Committee (MRC) meeting, agenda, minutes, handouts,and reports","collection_id":"bcas_bcmss0837","collection_title":"Office of Desegregation Management","dcterms_contributor":null,"dcterms_spatial":["United States, 39.76, -98.5","United States, Arkansas, 34.75037, -92.50044","United States, Arkansas, Pulaski County, 34.76993, -92.3118"],"dcterms_creator":["Arkansas. Department of Education"],"dc_date":["2013-04-09"],"dcterms_description":null,"dc_format":["application/pdf"],"dcterms_identifier":null,"dcterms_language":["eng"],"dcterms_publisher":["Little Rock, Ark. : Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. Central Arkansas Library System"],"dc_relation":null,"dc_right":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"dcterms_is_part_of":["Office of Desegregation Monitoring records (BC.MSS.08.37)","History of Segregation and Integration of Arkansas's Educational System"],"dcterms_subject":["Education--Arkansas","Arkansas. Department of Education","Educational statistics","Education and state","Pulaski County (Ark.)--History--20th century","Magnet schools"],"dcterms_title":["Magnet Review Committee (MRC) meeting, agenda, minutes, handouts,and reports"],"dcterms_type":["Text"],"dcterms_provenance":["Butler Center for Arkansas Studies"],"edm_is_shown_by":null,"edm_is_shown_at":["http://arstudies.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/bcmss0837/id/197"],"dcterms_temporal":null,"dcterms_rights_holder":null,"dcterms_bibliographic_citation":null,"dlg_local_right":["Available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any other use requires permission from the Butler Center."],"dcterms_medium":["agendas (administrative records)","minutes (administrative records)","handbills","reports"],"dcterms_extent":["73 pages"],"dlg_subject_personal":null,"dcterms_subject_fast":null,"fulltext":"\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\n2013 Senior Art Exhibit Parkview Arts/Science Magnet High School Little Rock, Arkansas April 9-April 16 THEA Foundation Center for the Arts John Kohn Tenenbaum Gallery 401 Main Street North Little Rock, AR Gallery Hours: 9am to 12 noon, 1 pm to 5pm Monday-Friday Public Reception: Tuesday, April 16th, 6:00-7:30 pm Senior Recognition Ceremony, 6:45 pm MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE AGENDA APRIL 9, 2013 I. Call to Order - Roll Call II. Reading of the Minutes of February 12, 2013 Ill. Executive Director's Report A. Correspondence B. Financial Transactions C. Newspaper Articles D. Recruitment Update E. LRSD Original Magnet Schools Personnel - Vacancies and New Hires IV. Business and/or Action Items A. Stipulation Magnet School Evaluation Report - Update B. MRC Policy for Sibling Preference - Discussion C. Schedule Annual Report from Magnet Principals V. Adjournment MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE MINUTES February 12, 2013 The regularly scheduled meeting of the Magnet Review Committee was held at Mann Magnet School, 1000 East Roosevelt, Little Rock, Arkansas on Tuesday, February 12, 2013. Members Present: Dr. Sadie Mitchell, LRSD- Chairperson Bobby Acklin, NLRSD Dr. Robert Clowers, PCSSD Oliver Dillingham, ADE Danny Reed, ADE Joy Springer, Joshua lntervenors Guests: Patricia Boykin, Principal of Mann Magnet Margie Powell, ODM The meeting was called to order at 8:50 a.m. by Chairperson Dr. Sadie Mitchell. She immediately called for a reading of the minutes of January 15, 2013. Danny Reed made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, and Dr. Robert Clowers seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved as presented. Donna Grady Creer provided the Executive Director's report. She called the Committee's attention to several items in correspondence. The letters and emails were thank you letters and memorandums to all personnel and associates who assisted to make Magnet Fair a success. Copies of the correspondence were given to all MRC members, but no action was required by the MRC. Bills in the amount of $8,034.67 were presented for payment. Ms. Creer provided a brief recap of the expenses and noted that most had to do with early enrollment and Magnet Fair costs. Danny Reed made a motion to pay the bills and Oliver Dillingham seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. A listing of all newspaper articles since the previous MRC meeting was given to all MRC members for their information. Ms. Creer provided a brief recap and reminded Committee members that copies are available upon request through the MRC Office. An article from Magnet Schools of America was also given to MRC members for their perusal. Ms. Creer noted that this article provided information about magnets still being a viable school choice. With regard to a recruitment update, information received from the Little Rock School District's Student Registration Office was given to all MRC members. This report provided a listing of students who have been assigned to the Stipulation magnet schools and the vacant seats still available. Joy Springer said she has to study the report and, if she has questions, she will let the MRC know. A copy of the letters sent to rising 5th and 8th grade students from North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special School District students was given to MRC members for their information. The letter provided parents with the procedure for application for their student as they enter either the 6th or 9th grade. No action was required by the MRC. Magnet Fair was a success. Schools are reporting that several tours have been scheduled as a result. People applauded the larger stage at McCain Mall. All in all, the change of venue this year seems to be proving to be an asset. Dr. Mitchell described some of the activities going on at the school booths at Magnet Fair, and Oliver Dillingham observed how the schools tried to attract people to their booths. On Monday following Magnet Fair, Parkview Magnet did an \"Arts Night Out\" at their school. It was a good idea but not a lot of people participated. -2- Central is doing events for Black History Month and Chinese New Year. Ms. Creer is planning to attend the Chinese New Year activity. Patricia Boykin, Principal of Mann Magnet, will be doing the presentation for Mann Magnet before the Little Rock School District Board soon. She was not able to attend the meeting with the other Stipulation magnet principals in January, due to illness. Dr. Clowers asked if there is any information to support the fact that having the Magnet Fair at McCain Mall helped to recruit more students from PCSSDa nd NLRSD. Ms. Creer said we are looking into those numbers at present. Little Rock School District's Elementary Science Fair was held at the Metroplex. Overall, the top award went to a magnet school, and there were several winning entries from magnet schools. Dr. Mitchell informed the MRC that another activity in Little Rock School District will be taking place during March. This activity is called Artistry in the Rock and will be a two-day event. More details will follow. With regard to personnel vacancies and new hires in the Stipulation magnet schools, there are none to report at this time. When Ms. Creer made her report before the Little Rock School District Board, she reminded the School Board members that the MRC does an evaluation report for the Stipulation magnet schools. Dr. Karen DeJarnette is ready to start the next report cycle, and Ms. Creer will be working with her to provide her with our research questions for the new report. Ms. Springer asked that the MRC Office share with MRC members before the final evaluation is accepted. This data needs to be shared with MRC to see if the final report is on target. A discussion was held with regard to the MRC-generated policies. The option of adding sibling preference at the middle school level was the main topic of -3- S\" '/ discussion. Ms. Creer is doing research on this question. The trend is to continue the sibling preference in middle schools as they have in elementary schools. Many will be adding sibling preference because of declining enrollment. There are several ways of incorporating it. She has talked with the people at the Student Assignment Offices, and they all thought it would be a benefit. Danny Reed asked if it looked like it would increase the enrollment numbers. Ms. Creer said that because it is only three grades, she doesn't know. She has heard from other districts, and they say that the most important thing is to get the word out. Ms. Springer said she has no objection to it. After evaluation, we may need to go back and look at MRC policies. Danny Reed then made a motion to change the sibling preference policy by extending it to middle schools. Dr. Robert Clowers seconded the motion, and the motion carried unanimously. Dr. Clowers asked if someone new comes into the district, and a seat is open, can they seat the child during semester. This cannot be done if someone is coming from one of the other districts in Pulaski County, but it can if they are new to the county of Pulaski. Mr. Dillingham said we need to look at a three-year period to see how many times this occurred, and then see if the other districts are being hurt by this. A listing of dates for the rest of the school year for MRC meetings was provided to all Committee members. Dr. Clowers informed the MRC that he will be unable to attend the meeting scheduled for March lih. It was noted that the schedule for the annual report from magnet school principals needs to be scheduled. When no further business was brought before the Committee, Oliver Dillingham made a motion to adjourn the meeting, and Bobby Acklin seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:37 a.m. -4- I MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE BILLS TO BE PAID APRIL 9, 2013 1. CompSys (Monthly Billing to Host MRC's Website) 2. Staples Advantage (Supplies for the MRC Office) 3. Capital Business Machines (Monthly Billing for MRC's Maintenance Contract for the MRC Office Copier) 4. Central Arkansas Newspapers (Advertising during Early Enrollment and Magnet Fair) 5. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Subscription Renewal) 6. Leader Publishing (Advertising During Early Enrollment) 7. American Home Life (MRC's Office Rent) 8. American Home Life (MRC's Communications Expense) 9. Capital Business Machines (Monthly Billing for MRC's Maintenance Contract for the MRC Office Copier) 10.CompSys (Monthly Billing to Host MRC's Website) 11.Staples (Supplies for the MRC Office) 12.Central Arkansas Newspapers (Advertising) TOTAL BILLS TO BE PAID 48.33 5.50 77.76 632.00 60.00 170.40 825.00 182.50 77.76 48.33 81.32 351.00 $2,559.90 Desegregationh earingss et Pleaso n docketf orr eleasef roms upervisionca, shc utoff CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr., the presiding judge in the 30-year-old Pulaski County school desegregation lawsuit, on Friday announced dates for a series of court hearings to take place before the end of the year. The topics of the various hearings fall into two categories: the Pulaski County Special School District's request to be released from court supervision of some of its desegregation efforts, and Arkansas' request to be released from the multimillion- dollar payments and other obligations imposed in a 1989 settlement agreement with the three districts in Pulaski County. The first of the hearings on the Pulaski County Special District's request for partial unitary status and release from court supervision will focus on the district's efforts in the areas of special education. That court hearing will be Aug. 20-22. The second hearing will be I c:\nT, L 3-5a nd will focus on the .1~trict's steps to address the use of one-race classrooms in the 18,000-student system. The third hearing will be Sept. 17-19 on whether the Pulaski County Special District has met its desegregation commitments in regard to staffing and personnel. The fourth in the series of hearings will be Oct. 1-3 and will be on the district's compliance with the secondary gifted education program and Advanced Placement program provisions in its desegregation plan. In the order, Marshall also sets dates for the parties to engage in \"discovery,\" or collecting information for their cases, and he set dates for the parties to exchange their exhibits and the lists of people they will call as witnesses. He scheduled a 1:30 p.m., pretrial conference meeting with the attorneys for Aug. 6. The Joshua intervenors, who represent the black students in all three Pulaski County districts, are opposing Pulaski County Special's request for partial unitary status. Regarding the state's motion to be relieved from the 1989 financial settlement agreement, a two-week hearing is set for Dec. 9-20. A pretrial conference is scheduled for 9:30 am. Nov. 22. As a result of the decades- old settlement, the state is now paying the three Pulaski County school districts a combined $70 million a year, with about $40 million going to the Little Rock School District for the operation of magnet schools and the majority- to-minority interdistrict student transfer program, as well as teacher health insurance and retirement costs. The Little Rock School District is leading the opposition to the state's efforts to be released from the 1989 settlement. The state has argued that it should be released in part because the Little Rock and North Little Rock districts have been declared unitary and released from court supervision of their desegregation efforts. Attorneys for the district have countered that the state must prove it has remedied its constitutional violations that resulted in the state payments. INTERDISTRICT MAGNET SCHOOL ENROLLMENT POLICY Adopted December 21, 1988 Revised December 12, 2000 Revised February 15, 2005 1. Vacant seats at entry levels (K, 6th , and 9th) will be apportioned in accordance with percentages set forth in the Stipulation. 2. Preference will be given to PCSSD and NLRSD students for vacancies occurring in grades 1-5, 7-8, 10-11-12. If PCSSD and NLRSD are unable to fill their allocated seats, Little Rock School District students may be seated. 3. Students who apply for magnet school seats, and who have a sibling in the school for which they are applying, will be given priority on the waiting list. This will apply to the elementary level only. 4. Students will not be guaranteed placement from one organization level to the next.  Originally adopted in December, 1988, this policy governs enrolhnent. The content has been changed to include sibling preference provisions. The February 15, 2005 revision changed the grade levels to coincide with the reorganization which took place when middle schools and four-year high schools were established.\nThis project was supported in part by a Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives project grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Council on Library and Information Resoources.\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\u003cdcterms_creator\u003eArkansas. Department of Education\u003c/dcterms_creator\u003e\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n "},{"id":"bcas_bcmss0837_239","title":"Magnet Review Committee (MRC) meeting, agenda, minutes, handouts,and reports","collection_id":"bcas_bcmss0837","collection_title":"Office of Desegregation Management","dcterms_contributor":null,"dcterms_spatial":["United States, 39.76, -98.5","United States, Arkansas, 34.75037, -92.50044","United States, Arkansas, Pulaski County, 34.76993, -92.3118"],"dcterms_creator":["Arkansas. Department of Education"],"dc_date":["2013-02-12"],"dcterms_description":null,"dc_format":["application/pdf"],"dcterms_identifier":null,"dcterms_language":["eng"],"dcterms_publisher":["Little Rock, Ark. : Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. 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Department of Education\u003c/dcterms_creator\u003e\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n "},{"id":"bcas_bcmss0837_1871","title":"Multiple court filings: District Court, status report of Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD), Little Rock School District's (LRSD's) response to Arkansas Department of Education's (ADE's) motion for release from 1989 settlement agreement, notification of appeal and supplement, joint report proposing timetable for state's motion for release from 1989 settlement agreement, ADE project management tool.","collection_id":"bcas_bcmss0837","collection_title":"Office of Desegregation Management","dcterms_contributor":null,"dcterms_spatial":["United States, 39.76, -98.5","United States, Arkansas, 34.75037, -92.50044","United States, Arkansas, Pulaski County, 34.76993, -92.3118","United States, Arkansas, Pulaski County, Little Rock, 34.74648, -92.28959"],"dcterms_creator":["United States. 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Any other use requires permission from the Butler Center."],"dcterms_medium":["agendas (administrative records)","minutes (administrative records)","handbills","reports"],"dcterms_extent":["2 pages"],"dlg_subject_personal":null,"dcterms_subject_fast":null,"fulltext":"\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\nMAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE AGENDA January 15, 2013 I. Call to Order - Roll Call II. Reading of the Minutes of December 11, 2012 Ill. Executive Director's Report A. Correspondence B. Financial Transactions C. Newspaper Articles D. Recruitment Update E. LRSD Original Magnet Schools Personnel - Vacancies and New Hires IV. Business and/or Action Items A. Stipulation Magnet Schools Evaluation Report - Discussion of Research Questions for New Report B. MRC Policy Review Preview C. Calendar of Meetings for January-June, 2013 D. Schedule Annual Report from Principals V. Adjournment MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE MINUTES December 11, 2012 The regularly scheduled meeting of the Magnet Review Committee was held in the Magnet Review Committee Office, 1920 North Main Street, Suite 101, North Little Rock, Arkansas on Tuesday, December 11, 2012. Members Present: Dr. Sadie Mitchell, LRSD - Chairperson Bobby Acklin, NLRSD Dr. Robert Clowers, PCSSD Oliver Dillingham, ADE Danny Reed, ADE Joy Springer, Joshua lntervenors Guest: Margie Powell, ODM The meeting was called to order at 8:45 a.m. by Chairperson Dr. Sadie Mitchell. She immediately called for a reading of the minutes of November 16, 2012. Oliver Dillingham made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, and Danny Reed seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Donna Grady Creer provided the Executive Director's report. Since there were no written items in correspondence, Ms. Creer directed the Committee's attention directly to the financial transactions with bills in the amount of $1,055.83. Bobby Acklin made a motion to pay the bills, and Joy Springer seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. DRAFT ORAFT Ms. Creer provided a brief recap of the newspaper articles since the previous MRC meeting. She reminded the Committee if they want a copy of an article, the MRC Office is keeping an archive. Ms. Creer reminded the MRC that a copy of the Court Order approving the interdistrict magnet schools budget had been received and already forwarded to MRC members electronically. With regard to a recruitment update, Ms. Creer reported that MRC's new website is up and running. Facebook and Twitter is also available to the public now as well. Magnet Fair will be held on January 26, 2013 at McCain Mall. Early application time is January 28, 2013 through February 8, 2013. Ms. Creer is setting up a meeting with Pat Boykin, Principal at Mann, regarding Mann's individual recruitment efforts. Ongoing programs at the schools with regard to the holiday season are being used to recruit interested students. Elementary students are being invited to Mann, and middle school students have been invited to Parkview. Joy Springer asked if there were any seats open at semester. Ms. Creer said the placements were taking place at this time to fill any vacant seats. Ms. Springer said she would also like to see the results of both the North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special School District in their recruitment efforts to place students. With regard to personnel vacancies and new hires in the Stipulation magnet schools, Ms. Creer reported that there are none at this time. Ms. Creer reported on the lnterdistrict Magnet Schools Evaluation Report. She gave all Committee members a copy of Joy Springer's e-mail from the previous meeting when Ms. Springer was unable to attend but forwarded the correspondence in response to research questions. Ms. Creer has talked with Dr. -2- DRAFT Karen DeJarnette, and Dr. DeJarnette has informed Ms. Creer that LRSD will help in getting this new evaluation report finished. Ms. Springer reported that Little Rock School District (PRE Department) is doing a lot of reports regarding special education, and she suggests that they take the lead in getting the report done. PRE can answer the questions that Ms. Springer has submitted. Some of the principals and staff members can be a part of the team. It is very important since the State has indicated that they do not want to continue participation in funding for magnet schools. We need to know if they have a good basis for their beliefs. The MRC will probably will have to pay Dr. DeJarnette something for collecting the data. Dr. Robert Clowers said he had the opportunity to work with PRE recently, and was greatly impressed with their system. Ms. Springer asked that Ms. Creer pass the research questions on to Dr. DeJarnette. Dr. Clowers asked if there is a risk regarding black and non-black students getting to a tipping point. With regard to a report on the tracking of Stipulation magnet school students, Ms. Creer stated that people knew that Little Rock School District is doing research on why students leave magnet schools to go to charters, and they reported that 331 students have left LRSD. How was that number calculated? This looked to be less than nine students per year. Oliver Dillingham asked if there is a policy that a child cannot leave a magnet before the end of the semester. Ms. Creer explained the procedure and how the wording reads on the magnet school application. A conversation was then held with regard to this issue. Ms. Creer was asked to talk to Kelsey Bailey, CFO for LRSD, and see if there is a way to set up the budget differently for submission. -3- DRAFT DRAFT. A brief discussion was held regarding our second semester schedule for MRC meetings, and it was suggested that we pull straws for the schools to hold a meeting on their campus. Mr. Dillingham also suggested that the MRC visit a school in the spring, with that school providing their annual report to the MRC at that time. Dr. Mitchell asked if there was any items that should be added to our meeting agenda for the next meeting. Mr. Dillingham suggested that the enrollment figures be put in each packet. Do it in a simple way and make it a standard agenda item. It was agreed by consensus that the next MRC meeting will be held on January 15, 2013, in the MRC Office, at 8:30 a.m. When no further business was brought before the Committee, Oliver Dillingham made a motion to adjourn the meeting, and Dr. Robert Clowers seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 a.m. -4- DRAFT Magnet Review Committee 1920 North Main Street, Suite 101  North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114 (501) 758-0156 {Phone}  (501) 758-5366 {Fax}  magnet@magnetschool.com {E-mail} TO: Dr. Jerry Guess, Superintendent - PCS SD Dr. Morris Holmes, Superintendent - LRSD Dr. Tom Kimbrell, Education Commissioner - ADE Mr. Ken Kirspel, S~~ndent - NLRSD FROM: Donna Grady Cree~tive Director SUBJ: DATE: Magnet Review Committee MAGNET SCHOOL FAIR 2013 -January 26, 2013 January 14, 2013 Thank you for your support of the Interdistrict Magnet School Program. Your involvement in the program helps ensure its continued success. The 18th Annual Magnet School Fair will be held on Saturday, January 26, 2013, at McCain Mall, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. This memorandum comes to cordially invite you to attend. We welcome you to visit any, or all, of the magnet school booths staffed by school administrators, staff, parents, students and volunteers. They are prepared to answ\\\n:r questions about their school's program. Throughout the day, magnet school student performance groups will showcase at the stage area. We invite you to attend and to speak to the Magnet Fair attendees if you so desire. If you would like to briefly (3-5 minutes) address the Magnet Fair attendees, please have someone in your office contact Sandy at 758-0156. Once again, thank you. We look forward to seeing you at the 18th Annual Magnet School Fair on Saturday, January 26, 2013, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. DGC:sl cc: Dr. Sadie Mitchell - LRSD MRC Rep Bobby Acklin - NLRSD MRC Rep Dr. Robert Clowers - PCSSD MRC Rep Oliver Dillingham - ADE MRC Rep Danny Reed - ADE MRC Rep \"Purwe the Possibilities of Maenet School Enrollment\" Magnet Review Committee 1920 North Main Street, Suite 1 01  North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114 (501) 758-0156 {Phone}  (501) 758-5366 {Fax}  magnet@magnetschool.com {E-mail} TO: FROM: SUBJECT: DATE: Brenda Miller-Anderson - LRSD Student Registration Office Tonya Click - LRSD Student Registration Office Andreia Crawford - LRSD Student Registration Office Deana Eggleston - LRSD Student Registration Office Maria Garcia - LRSD Student Registration Office Michelle Oliver - PCSSD Equity and Pupil Services Office Dr. Debbie Price - LRSD Student Registration Office Yolanda Richards - PCSSD Equity and Pupil Services Office Tameka White - N~1vtD Desegregation Office Donna Grady Cre~cutive Director Magnet Review Committee Magnet Fair Volunteers January 10, 2013 It's that time of the year again! The Magnet Fair is just around the comer and, of course, the Magnet Review Committee needs help!! The 18th Annual Magnet School Fair is scheduled for SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2013, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., in McCain Mall. Any volunteer time you could provide for that day to help us man the \"Magnet School Information Booth\" would REALLY be appreciated. Please let Sandy know when you might be able to share a few hours of that Saturday. We really rely on your expertise. Thank you for your help. We appreciate each and every one of you. DGC:sl cc: Bobby Acklin, NLRSD Desegregation Office Dr. Brenda Bowles, PCSSD Equity and Pupil Services Office Dr. Frederick Fields, LRSDE Student Registration Office \"Pursue the Possibilities of Magnet School Enrollment\" FW: HOLIDAY PROGRAM INVITATION FW: HOLIDAY PROGRAM INVITATION Donna Creer Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 8:46 AM To: Magnet Review From: Donna Creer Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 2:59 PM To: Carson, Cheryl Subject: RE: HOLIDAYP ROGRAMIN VITATION Thanks so much for the invite Page 1 of 1 I will be at one or the other and I will put this up on the magnet school review committee facebook page and twitter! ( social media to get some students!) From: Carson, Cheryl [Cheryl.Carson@lrsd.org] Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 12:58 PM To: Donna Creer Subject: HOLIDAYP ROGRAMIN VITATION Please accept this invitation for you to attend our dress rehearsal of \"When Posey Peaks\" at 8:30 A.M. and/or the family and community performance at 6:30 P.M. on December 17, 2012 in the Booker Arts Magnet School Gym. As always, thank you so much for your support of our arts magnet school program. We hope to see you soon! httos://mail.comosvscloud.com/owa/?ae=Item\u0026amp;t=IPM.Note\u0026amp;id=RgAAAABV7LPR2NU... 12/13/2012 r_vv: ntrKv1ew .n1gn .:-:,cnoo1- Lignnng ~ystem FW: Parkview High School - Lighting System Donna Creer Sent: Friday, December 14, 2012 8:50 AM To: Magnet Review From: Donna Creer Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 1:51 PM To: Booth, Dexter\nBailey, Kelsey Cc: Sadie.Mitchell@lrsd.org Subject: RE: Parkview High School - Lighting System Page 1 of 3 Thank you Dr Booth.We have a new computer system and I think I have accidentially deleted the email group that delineated the request from Dr Booth for the light board which was sent to MRC shortly after their report to MRC in the spring. I forwarded that on to Mr Bailey and Dr Mitchell for their comment/thoughts on how this could be accomplished. If my memory is ANY good, the plan was for PV to pay for it and include it in NEXT YEARS budget to be reimbursed. At this point, I think we need a swift plan of action to get the light board in place and used by students and staff for our upcoming recruitment and spring concerts series. I know we all want to see the light board purchased ASAP From: Booth, Dexter [Dexter.Booth@lrsd.org) Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 1:20 PM To: Donna Creer\nBailey, Kelsey Subject: RE: Parkview High School - Lighting System Mr. Bailey and Mrs. Creer, I am sorry about this late reply to your e-mail, but I have been with Attorney Heller in conferences all morning. The status of the lighting control console was not detected until after my report to MRC. I reported it to Mrs. Creer approximately a week after my report to MRC. In short, I will get with by bookkeeper on Friday (she is out sick today) and check the budget to see if we can afford to rob Peter to pay Paul. Respectfully, DB -----Original Message----- From: Donna Creer [mailto:donnacreer@magnetschool.com] Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 1:01 PM To: Bailey, Kelsey Cc: Booth, Dexter Subject: RE: Parkview High School - Lighting System This was an addendum to Parkview Magnets report to MRC I will look up the email path and forward it to you. Thanks for giving this your immediate attention. I appreciate you From: Bailey, Kelsey [Kelsey.Bailey@lrsd.org) Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 8:18 AM To: Booth, Dexter Cc: Burton, Marvin\nDonna Creer\nBoosey, Fred\nHowell, Debbie\nZink, Judy\nMitchell, https://mail.compsyscloud.com/owa/?ae=ltem\u0026amp;t=IPM.Note\u0026amp;id=RgAAAABV7LPR2NU... 12/14/2012 FW: Parkview High School - Lighting System Page 2 of 3 Sadie\nParadis, Darral Subject: Re: Parkview High School - Lighting System Dr. Booth, Was this request presented to the Magnet Review Committee as discussed for approval? If so, was it approved? This purchase will need to be made out of Parkview's budget. You will also need to check with Procurement on this purchase. Kelsey On Dec 12, 2012, at 4:53 PM, \"Booth, Dexter\" \u0026lt;Dexter.Booth@lrsd.org\u0026lt;mailto:Dexter.Booth@lrsd.org\u0026gt;\u0026gt; wrote: Mr. Bailey, Per our conversation earlier this year, the lighting control console in the Parkview Auditorium is now totally inoperable. I am officially requesting (for you to purchase) a new lighting control console for the Parkview Auditorium as soon as possible. If more information is needed before you approve this request, please do not hesitate to call and/or e-mail me. Respectfully, DB P.S. Please see the attachments for more pertinent information about this request. From: Howell, Debbie Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 4:10 PM To: Booth, Dexter Cc: Zink, Judy\n'John Cooke'\nBoosey, Fred\nSutterfield, Spencer Subject: FW: Parkview High School - Lighting System Hi Dr. Booth, I am forwarding you a report of the maintenance that had to be done to get our lighting equipment( lights only) functional after the electrical storm that occurred on Sunday. Although that was a relatively easy fix, unfortunately the damage to our already failing lighting control console was extensive. Repairing it will be costly, time consuming and there are no guarantees that it will be fully functional and future failures are likely. As you know our spring is full of fine arts magnet activities in the auditorium. We really need to replace the console a.s.a.p. To get through the band concert tomorrow night, StageWorks has graciously(temporarily) loaned us one of their rental boards. At present ours is completely inoperable. Sincerely, Debbie Howell From: John Cooke [mailto:JOHN@STAGEWORKS.COM] Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 3:13 PM To: Howell, Debbie Cc: John Cooke Subject: Parkview High School - Lighting System Debbie - Our report which is being sent to Maintenance \u0026amp; Operations is attached - along with the quote for the lighting control console from the fall. Pricing is valid through the end of the calendar year. Please let me know what more we can do to help. Best Regards, j https:/ /mail.compsyscloud.com/owa/?ae=I tem\u0026amp;t=IPM.N ote\u0026amp;id= RgAAAABV7LPR2NU... 12/14/2012 l' .w : .t'arKv1ewtt 1gn :::\u0026gt;cnoo-1L 1gntmg :system John Cooke STAGEWORKS, Inc. 3721 Harold Street North Little Rock, AR 72118 voice 501.375.2243 Ext 103 fax 501.375.2650 cell 501.258.7005 john@stageworks.com\u0026lt;mailto:john@stageworks.com\u0026gt; \u0026lt;ServiceReport ParkviewHS.pdf\u0026gt; \u0026lt;Q 110428.01R2.pdf\u0026gt; \u0026lt;Q 110428.03.pdf\u0026gt; \u0026lt;Q 110428.02R2.pdf\u0026gt; Page 3 of3 https:/ /mail.compsyscloud.com/owa/?ae=Item\u0026amp;t=IPM.Note\u0026amp;id=RgAAAABV7LPR2NU... 12/14/2012 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Kid's Directory MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE BILLS TO BE PAID JANUARY 15, 2013 (Advertising in Kid's Directory two times) McCain Mall (Fee to Rent McCain Mall area for Magnet Fair 2013) Thornton Broadcast Communications (Services Rendered and Cost of Equipment for Sound System at Magnet Fair 2013) Staples (Supplies for the MRC Office) American Home Life (MRC's Office Rent for January, 2013) American Home Life (MRC's Communications Expense for December, 2012) Sam's Club (Membership Renewal for the MRC Office) Radio Disney (Contract Fee to Advertise with Radio Disney during Magnet School Application Time) Wardell Laster, Jr. (Services Rendered and Printing Charges to Print Application Forms and Brochures for Recruitment and Early Application) TOTAL BILLS TO BE PAID 860.00 500.00 1,100.00 106.43 825.00 182.50 70.00 800.00 1,325.00 5,768.93 12-9-12 12-11-12 12-11-12 12-14-12 12-14-12 12-15-12 12-17-12 12-21-12 12-29-12 1-7-13 1-8-13 1-9-13 1-10-13 1-10-13 1-11-13 1-11-13 1-13-13 1-14-13 NEWS ARTICLES Education Notebook 4 School Districts Shed Fiscal Distress Schools Denied Unitary Rulings 24 Seek NLR Superintendent Post LR to Launch Superintendent Search LR District Readies Anti-bullying Plan Give Hope a Chance-And this charter school a try-EDITORIAL NLR School Board OK's Pay Increases in District Judge Approves School-Case Settlement NLR Moving to End School Suit LR District Combats Bullying in School {Picture) LR Educators Approve Terms in New Contract Band's Fundraising a Little Short {Picture of Central's Band) School Recycling Program {Picture) NLR Schools Pare Field for Top Job to 5 Holmes: Increase School Guards Education Notebook Partnership Seeks Remedy to LR Truancy\nThis project was supported in part by a Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives project grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Council on Library and Information Resoources.\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\u003cdcterms_creator\u003eArkansas. 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Any other use requires permission from the Butler Center."],"dcterms_medium":["agendas (administrative records)"],"dcterms_extent":["166 pages"],"dlg_subject_personal":null,"dcterms_subject_fast":null,"fulltext":"\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\nMAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE AGENDA DECEMBER 11, 2012 I. Call to Order - Roll Call II. Reading of the Minutes of November 16, 2012 Ill. Executive Director's Report A. Correspondence B. Financial Transactions C. Newspaper Articles D. Recruitment Update E. LRSD Original Magnet Schools Personnel- Vacancies and New Hires IV. Business and/or Action Items A. Stipulation Magnet Schools Evaluation Report- Discussion of Research Questions for New Report B. Report on Tracking of Stipulation Magnet School Students Upon Withdrawal C. MRC Policy Review Preview D. Calendar of Meetings for January-June, 2013 V. Adjournment\nThis project was supported in part by a Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives project grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Council on Library and Information Resoources.\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\u003cdcterms_creator\u003eArkansas. 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Any other use requires permission from the Butler Center."],"dcterms_medium":["agendas (administrative records)","minutes (administrative records)","handbills","reports"],"dcterms_extent":["81 pages"],"dlg_subject_personal":null,"dcterms_subject_fast":null,"fulltext":"\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\nMargie Powell From: Date: To: \"Magnet Review\" \u0026lt;magnet@magnetschool.com\u0026gt; Friday, November 16, 2012 12:20 PM \u0026lt;Sadie.Mitchell@lrsd.org\u0026gt;\n\u0026lt;acklinbo@nlrsd.org\u0026gt;\n\u0026lt;rclowers@pcssd.org\u0026gt;\n\u0026lt;Oliver.Dillingham@Arkansas.gov\u0026gt;\n\u0026lt;Danny.Reed@Arkansas.gov\u0026gt; Page 1 of 4 Cc: \u0026lt;jspringer@gabrielmail.com\u0026gt;\n\u0026lt;mqpowell@odmemail.com\u0026gt;\n\"Donna Creer\" \u0026lt;donnacreer@magnetschool.com\u0026gt; Subject: FW: 11/16 MRC meeting As promised in our meeting this morning, November 16th, here is the e-mail from Joy Springer regarding research questions for the Stipulation Magnet Schools Evaluation Report for your review. This item will be on our agenda for our meeting scheduled for December 11, 2012, at 8:30 a.m., in the MRC Office. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Thanks, Sandy From: Donna Creer Sent: Friday, November 16, 2012 12:14 PM To: Magnet Review Subject: FW: 11/16 MRC meeting From: Joy Springer Qspringer@gabrielmail.com] Sent: Friday, November 16, 2012 8:51 AM To: 'Mitchell, Sadie' Cc: Donna Creer Subject: RE: 11/16 MRC meeting Good morning ... Will not be able to make the committee meeting this morning are the research questions that I believe need to be addressed(the first question is a standard part of the Board approved evaluation research questions: 1) Have magnet school been effective in improving and remediating the academic achievement 11/19/2012 Page 2 of 4 of African American students\n2) What is the level of implementation of the magnet school programs? 3) What are the perceptions of teachers, staff, parents students regarding the magnet school program and the implementation of the magnet school program by its staff? Also their perceptions of the program strengths and weaknesses 4) What are the perceptions of parents who have withdrawn their students from magnet schools? 5) What are the reasons for the decline of white student enrollment in magnet schools and the increase of non-white students in magnet schools? 6) What is the reason for the higher achievement of African American students who attend magnet schools as compared to African American students who attend area elementary schools? 7) What is the reason for the decline of participation by the NLRSD and PCSSD in LRSD magnet schools? Please let me know if you have questions. Please forward the agenda for today's meeting by return email. Have a good meeting. Thank you. Joy Springer, Joshua Representative -----Original Message----- From: Mitchell, Sadie [mailto:Sadie.Mitchell@lrsd.org] Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2012 8:36 AM To: Joy Springer Cc: Donna Creer Subject: Re: 10/2 MRC meeting Thanks Joy. We appreciate your insight and for drafting the research questions. Sadie Mitchell, Ed.D, Associate Superintendent Little Rock School District Elementary Schools On Oct 3, 2012, at 8:01 AM, \"Joy Springer\" \u0026lt; jspringer@gabrielmail.com \u0026lt;mailto:jspringer@gabrielmai I.com\u0026gt;\u0026gt; wrote: 11/19/2012 Page 3 of 4 Good morning .. I had a personal emergency on yesterday and apologize that I was not able to attend the meeting. Dr. Dreyfus' report indicates a decline in white student enrollment and an increase in the nonwhite enrollment in the magnet schools. For the magnet schools, the percentage is reported as % black and % nonblack. There has been a decline in white student enrollment and an increase in \"other\" minority enrollment in the magnet schools. The question is why? believe on the call you or Sadie indicated that there is form that parents can complete to give the reasons why. We need to know why? This data needs to be collected and analyzed. If the magnet schools are going to be majority minority in the days to come, I do not see that they are serving their purpose - to attract white students into the district schools. So why have them? Now that I thought about it some more. The magnet elementary schools', probably with the except of Booker and maybe Carver in one area, achievement gap is not 20 points, high double digit teens or more like in the secondary magnet schools. Why is this? What is going on in the magnet schools that can be transferred to the other elementary schools in the district to address African American student achievement? We need to know why African American students are performing better in magnet schools than they are in the regular elementary schools. If all schools are doing the same thing, there would not be a dispute about getting into a magnet school. I guess I am saying that all of the schools should be magnet schools. I guess than the achievement gap would eventually go away. Isn't that what we are striving to do? I will try to write out the research questions and bring them to our next meeting. Hopefully, these comments will help you understand my concerns. Thanks, Joy Springer, Joshua From: Donna Creer [mailto:donnacreer@magnetschool.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 9:55 AM To: jspringer@gabrielmail.com\u0026lt;mailto:jspringer@gabrielmail.com\u0026gt; Subject: 10/2 MRC meeting We missed you at the meeting today. We approved the stipulation magnet schools budget, the purchase of a much needed light board at Parkview and the 2010-11 stipulation magnet schools evaluation. 11/19/2012 Page 4 of 4 Sadie, Bobby and I tried to articulate most of the questions you mentioned during our conference call( with Dr Dreyfus) , however, we would prefer if you would take a moment to forward them via email and/or bring them to our November meeting, scheduled for FRIDAY, November 16th , 8:30 am at the MRC office. We asked all MRC members to contribute any research question they would like to see addressed in the next evaluation. I will bring your packet by your office later this week. Thanks for everything. 11/19/2012 MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE AGENDA NOVEMBER 16, 2012 i. Call to Order- Roll Call II. Reading of the Minutes of October 2, 2012 Ill. Executive Director's Report A. Correspondence B. Financial Transactions C. Newspaper Articles D. Recruitment Update E. LRSD Original Magnet Schools Personnel - Vacancies and New Hires IV. Business and/or Action Items A. Discussion of Court Orders Related to MRC's Submission of Budget to the Court B. Stipulation Magnet Schools Evaluation Report - Discussion of Research Questions for New Report C. Report on Tracking of Stipulation Magnet School Students Upon Withdrawal D. Appeal - Withdrawal of Student from Gibbs Magnet E. Set Next Meeting Date V. Adjournment MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 2, 2012 The regularly scheduled meeting of the Magnet Review Committee was held in the Magnet Review Committee Office, 1920 North Main Street, Suite 101, North Little Rock, Arkansas, on Tuesday, October 2, 2012. Members Present: Dr. Sadie Mitchell, Chairperson - LRSD Bobby Acklin, NLRSD Dr. Robert Clowers, PCSSD Oliver Dillingham, ADE Danny Reed, ADE Absent: Joy Springer, Joshua lntervenors Guests: Kelsey Bailey, Chief Financial Officer - LRSD Margie Powell, Federal Monitor- ODM The meeting was called to order at 8:35 a.m. by Chairperson Dr. Sadie Mitchell. She immediately called for a reading of the minutes of June 7, 2012. A motion was made by Oliver Dillingham and seconded by Danny Reed to accept the minutes as presented. The motion carried unanimously. A motion was made by Oliver Dillingham and seconded by Dr. Robert Clowers to change the order of the Agenda so Kelsey Bailey, Chief Financial Officer at Little Rock School District, could come forward and present the Stipulation Magnet Schools Budget information for presentation to the Court. The motion was unanimously approved. Mr. Bailey informed the MRC that the ADM was down by about 88 students from the previous ADM. Mr. Bailey also reported that the approved budget for the 2011-12 school year had been set at $29,449,577.00. The final expenditures for this same time period came in at $29,400,397.00 and included a one percent salary increase and additional benefits. The proposed budget for 2012-13 is up about $200,000.00 and was submitted at $29,655,558.00. This figure included calculating athletic expenses a little bit differently. This amount is in the same vicinity as it was for three years now, so Little Rock School District is looking good for this year. It is LRSD's plan to stay within their budget this year. Mr. Bailey also noted that Mann's addition is going up at a cost of about $4.3 million, and a security guard has been added to Carver Magnet and Booker Magnet. With regard to Parkview's request for a new lighting board, Mr. Bailey said that will be paid for at the end of the year. A motion was made by Danny Reed to approve the new lighting board at Parkview and Bobby Acklin seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. A motion was then made by Danny Reed to approve the proposed Stipulation Magnet Schools budget for 2012-13, and Bobby Acklin seconded it. The motion carried unanimously. A motion was made to approve the actual expenditures for 2011-12 for the Stipulation Magnet Schools budget by Bobby Acklin. Danny Reed seconded the motion, and the motion carried unanimously. Dr. Mitchell thanked Mr. Bailey for his presentation to the MRC, as well as the MRC members for their votes. -2- Donna Grady Creer provided the Executive Director's report. She called the Committee's attention to items in correspondence. The first items were good news articles from Carver Magnet and Booker Magnet about recent awards for their schools. Copies of the e-mails were given to MRC members for their information, but no action was required. An e-mail was received from Williams Magnet Principal, Lori Brown, congratulating her staff about Williams being recognized as a 2012 NCEA Higher Performing School. Again, copies were given to MRC members, but no action was required by the MRC. Copies of Gibbs' newsletter, Le Mundo, were given to MRC members for their perusal. The newsletter is distributed each week. Bills in the amount of $1,425.95 were presented for payment. Bobby Acklin made a motion to pay the bills, and Danny Reed seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Copies of newspaper articles since the previous MRC meeting were given to MRC members for their information. Ms. Creer provided a brief overview. Due to the high number of articles that were in the packet, Oliver Dillingham asked if there was some way these articles could be e-mailed to MRC members. The MRC Office will set up some kind of system to make sure that members receive these articles by e-mail and keep a master copy in the MRC Office. Ms. Creer reported that during the Swap Meet, held on July 19, 2012, a discussion was held with regard to ways to become more cost efficient with regard to our application forms and withdrawal forms. The MRC Office is working with the three districts to determine if the number of copies for each form that is submitted could be reduced to lower the price for the cost of forms. Ms. Creer also reported that the number of vacancies for most grade levels and theme areas in the Stipulation magnet schools has been reduced to single digits. The few vacancies that are available will probably be filled at semester. -3- 1'71e' :\n' - f\u0026lt;h - With regard to New Hires and Vacancies in the Stipulation magnet schools, there are none to report at this time. On September 26, 2012, a conference call was held with Dr. Jeanne Dreyfus, Magnet Evaluation Report Consultant, Bobby Acklin, Dr. Sadie Mitchell, Joy Springer, and Donna Creer. They talked in terms of overall theme for the next evaluation report and what research questions might be considered for the report. Dr. Mitchell reported that one of the things the conference call participants discussed was the method of how students were selected for the programs, particularly African-American students. This really was not a research question. It was determined that the MRC needs to get the research questions done up front. Dr. Dreyfus agreed with this statement. Dr. Mitchell said that recruitment starts next month (private schools mainly) and students are beginning to make their choices. Ms. Springer wanted to know why LRSD is losing white students to charter schools. Dr. Mitchell said LRSD is training with clerical staff at magnets to learn about why students are leaving magnet schools and to determine where they are going. Ms. Springer asked who is leaving- students who are proficient, advanced, or below average? Oliver Dillingham asked if students are leaving because of discipline referral, or what. He also asked if there was a way that all three districts in Pulaski County could track students by an electronic transfer process. Dr. Mitchell said that LRSD has nothing in their system that would allow electronic transfer methods to follow students and ascertain their reason for leaving. Margie Powell, ODM Monitor, asked if there was a way to put a code on a student when they got to a new school to get the information about why they left. Dr. Mitchell said that for the six Stipulation magnet schools, LRSD is planning to tag the students in the warehouse and get the information as to why they leave. She said for Donna Creer to get with Dr. DeJarnette to get this handled - by race. -4- The big question is: What is happening to the white students who withdraw-where are they going? Oliver Dillingham made a motion to approve the 2010-11 Stipulation Magnet Schools Evaluation Report. Bobby Acklin seconded it, and the motion was unanimously approved. The Committee was questioned as to how Dr. Dreyfus should be paid for the upcoming report. A suggestion was made that MRC may be able to share some of the cost with LRSD, but that $10,000 should be allocated in the MRC budget. It was approved by consensus that the next MRC meeting will be held on Friday, November 16, 2012, at 8:30 a.m., in the MRC Office. When no further business was brought before the Committee, Oliver Dillingham made a motion to adjourn the meeting, and Dr. Robert Clowers seconded it. The motion carried unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:45 a.m. -5- Sandy Luehrs From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Donna Creer [donnacreer@magnetschool.com] Wednesday, October 03, 2012 4:37 PM Joy Springer 'Mitchell, Sadie' Re: 10/2 MRC meeting Thanks Joy. Thanks for the return email and stating that you will write out the research questions. We want to get started as soon as possible with the upcoming stipulation magnet school evaluation and determining all the research questions will help to that end. The WITHDRAWAL FORM is the form that collects info on students who withdraw from Magnet Schools. At our meeting yesterday we discussed 1) reviewing the form with the office personnel at magnet schools and at each districts student registration office 2) Oliver and Bobby discussed ways that information is obtained statewide from students who withdraw from ANY school and go to another ARKANSAS public school 3) Sadie said that she would talk with Dr DeJarnette as to how this info is warehoused and how we may access it . I hope that your personal emergency worked itself out in your FAVOR Thanks again. From: Joy Springer Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2012 8:00 AM To: 'Donna Creer' Cc: 'Mitchell. Sadie' Subject: RE: 10/2 MRC meeting Good morning .. I had a personal emergency on yesterday and apologize that I was not able to attend the meeting. Dr. Dreyfus' report indicates a decline in white student enrollment and an increase in the nonwhite enrollment in the magnet schools. For the magnet schools, the percentage is reported as% black and% nonblack. There has been a decline in white student enrollment and an increase in \"other\" minority enrollment in the magnet schools. The question is why? I believe on the call you or Sadie indicated that there is form that parents can complete to give the reasons why. We need to know why? This data needs to be collected and analyzed. If the magnet schools are going to be majority minority in the days to come, I do not see that they are serving their purpose - to attract white students into the district schools. So why have them? Now that I thought about it some more. The magnet elementary schools', probably with the except of Booker and maybe Carver in one area, achievement gap is not 20 points, high double digit teens or more like in the secondary magnet schools. Why is this? What is going on in the magnet schools that can be transferred to the other elementary schools in the district to address African American student achievement? We need to know why African American students are performing better in magnet schools than they are in the regular elementary schools. If all schools are doing the same thing, there would not be a dispute about getting into a magnet school. I guess I am saying that all of the schools should be magnet schools. I guess than the achievement gap would eventually go away. Isn't that what we are striving to do? I will try to write out the research questions and bring them to our next meeting. Hopefully, these comments will help you understand my concerns. Thanks, Joy Springer, Joshua From: Donna Creer (mailto:donnacreer@magnetschool.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 9:55 AM To: jspringer@gabrielmail.com Subject: 10/2 MRC meeting We missed you at the meeting today. We approved the stipulation magnet schools budget , the purchase of a much needed light board at Parkview and the 2010-11 stipulation magnet schools evaluation. Sadie, Bobby and I tried to articulate most of the questions you mentioned during our conference call( with Dr Dreyfus), however, we would prefer if you would take a moment to forward them via email and/or bring them to our November meeting , scheduled for FRIDAY, November 16th, 8:30 am at the MRC office. We asked all MRC members to contribute any research question they would like to see addressed in the next evaluation. I will bring your packet by your office later this week. Thanks for everything. 2 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE BILLS TO BE PAID November 16, 2012 Mass Enthusiasm (Final Payment to Create and Host MRC's Website) Aire Ark, Inc. (Four Months Billing to Host MRC's Website and E-Mail) American Home Life (MRC's Office Rent for November, 2012) American Home Life (MRC's Communications Expense for October, 2012) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Advertising in \"Where We Live\") Capital Business Machines (Monthly Billing for MRC's Copier Maintenance Agreement) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Subscription Renewal for Three Months) TOTAL BILLS TO BE PAID 866.67 131.80 825.00 172.50 495.00 70.20 60.00 $2,621.17 10/8/2012 10/16/2012 10/24/2012 10/26/2012 10/27/2012 11/1/2012 11/1/2012 11/2/2012 11/2/2012 11/2/2012 11/7/2012 11/8/2012 11/9/2012 11/9/2012 11/1-2/2012 11/14/2012 11/15/2012 NEWS ARTICLES The Dead Come to Life at Mount Holly Cemetery's Tales of the Crypt Education Notebook District Staff Union Votes No Confidence in Leaders LRSD District Pupils Fewer Again, by 454 $875,000 Payment Sought for Intervenors in Desegregation Case Judge: School Workers Can't Sue State Over Unions' Dismissal Education Notebook State Board Approves Three New Charter Schools Little Rock Debaters Ride Out Storm in New York City Little Rock School Board's Peterson Dies at 63 County District Files Court Bid for Partial Unitary Status Obituary for Michael Peterson Little Rock Schools Hire Finn to Coach Instructors Alternative Schools to Share a Campus Education Notebook Optimism Rises on New District Little Rock Schools' Pay-Raise Plan Heads to Board Several of these articles have been sent to you via e-mail. If you wish a copy of any other article, please contact our office. To: VIPS Reading Day Volunteers in Magnet Schools From: Donna Creer, Executive Director Magnet Review Committee Date: November 13, 2012 Subject: Thank You and Magnet School Recruitment Thank you for visiting Williams Magnet School to read to students. We appreciate you spending your valuable time with our spectacular boys and girls. As you may know, magnet schools recruit students from Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special School Districts so, under certain guidelines, all students who live anywhere in Pulaski County, Arkansas may apply for a magnet school seat. Please feel free to share these upcoming dates with potential magnet school parents or students: CHECK US OUT: (school day visit to the campus of your choice) November 13-15: Each Magnet School - 9:00a.m. - 1 :30 p.m. 2013 MAGNET SCHOOL FAIR: Saturday, January 26, 2013 McCain Mall - 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EARLY ENROLLMENT PERIOD for 2013-14 School Year: January 28 - February 8, 2013 For more information on magnet schools and programs, please visit our website www.magnetschool.com. Thanks again! Magnet Review Committee 1920 North Main Street, Suite 1 01  North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114 (501) 758-0156 {Phone}  (501) 758-5366 {Fax}  magnet@magnetschool.com {E-mail} October 3, 2012 The Honorable D.P. Marshall, Jr. Judge, U. S. District Court Eastern District of Arkansas 501 West Capitol Room B-149 Little Rock, AR 72201 Dear Judge Marshall: On October 2, 2012, Mr. Kelsey Bailey, Chief Financial Officer, Little Rock School District, provided the Magnet Review Committee with the budget figures delineating the actual expenditures for the Stipulation original magnet school budgets for 2011-2012, as well as the proposed budget for the 2012-2013 school year. The information is contained in the attachment and was presented to MRC members for their review and vote on that same date. The Magnet Review Committee, by formal motion and vote of 5-0 via actual attendance at the MRC meeting on October 2, 2012, approved the final budget (actual expenditures) for the 2011-2012 school year. The proposed budget for the 2012-2013 school year also was approved with a 5-0 vote during the same meeting. Listed below is a recap of the budget information which is now being presented to the Court for approval: 1. FINAL 2011-2012 STIPULATED ORIGINAL MAGNET SCHOOLS BUDGET The total amount originally budgeted, $29,449,577, was based on a per-pupil expenditure of $8,214.00, calculated from a projected third quarter average enrollment of 3,585.10 students. Once the actual attendance (3,497.20) and expenditure ($29,400,397) numbers were determined, the final per pupil amount was calculated to be $8,407.00, which was $193.00 more than originally budgeted. A Funding By Source schedule is shown on Page 2 of the attachment representing the costs allocated to each of the four (4) parties. \"Pursue the Possibilities of Magnet School Enrollment\" The Honorable D.P. Marshall -2- October 3, 2012 2. PROPOSED 2012-2013 STIPULATED ORIGINAL MAGNET SCHOOLS BUDGET The total proposed budget for the 2012-2013 school year is $29,655,558.00, based on a proposed third quarter Average Daily Membership of 3,497.20, which results in a per-pupil expenditure of $8,480.00 and an increase of $73 .00 per pupil from the 2011-2012 actual rate. Final negotiations including revisiting the salary schedule during the 2012-13 school year are not complete at this time. Included in the Funding by Source Summary portion of the attached report are the cost breakdowns for each school district and the State. The Magnet Review Committee respectfully requests the Court's review and approval of both the 2011-2012 finalized actual expenditures in the amount of$29,400,397.00, with a per pupil expenditure of $8,407.00, as well as the proposed 2012-2013 budget, attached herewith. The Magnet Review Committee is committed to maintaining the quality of the Stipulation magnet schools. We will continue to work with the host district as we exercise stringent oversight of the magnet schools' budget in an effort to achieve and ensure efficient management and cost containment to the greatest extent possible. Sinc.er ely, , Sadi son Magnet Review Committee SM/DGC:sl Attachment: Final 2011-2012 Stipulation Magnet Schools Budget Actual Expenditures Proposed 2012-2013 Stipulation Magnet Schools Budget cc: Office of Desegregation Monitoring Magnet Review Committee COURT ORDER COURT ORDER Magnet Review Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 10:21 AM To: Sadie.Mitchell@lrsd.orga\ncklinbo@nlrsd.org\nr clowers@pcssd.org\nO liver.Dillingham@Arkansas.gov\nDanny.Reed@Arkansas.gojvs\np ringer@gabrielmail.com Cc: mqpowell@odmemail.comK\nelsey.Bailey@lrsd.org Importance: High Attachments: Court Order Approving 2011~1.pdf (16 KB) Good Morning, everyone, Page 1 of 1 Attached is the Court Order approving the Interdistrict Magnet Schools' final 2011-12 budget and proposed 2012- 13 budget in response to MRC's submission in September, 2012. As you can see, if any party has an objection, it has to be filed by October 29, 2012. We are now awaiting the final Court Order from the judge after all parties have approved. Have a great day. Sandy 1 ()/\"1'1 /0/\\1,., - Case 4:82-cv-00866-DPM Document 4781 Filed 10/17/12 Page 1 of 16 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS WESTERN DIVISION LITILEROCKSCHOOLDIBTRICL etaL v. No. 4:82-cv-866-DPM PLAINTIFFS NORTH LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT, et aL LORENE JOSHUA, et aL DEFENDANTS INTERVENORS ORDER The Magnet Review Committee has asked the Court to approve the interdistrict magnet schools' final 2011-12 budget and proposed 2012-13 budget. That request is attached to this Order. Any party having an objection should file it by 29 October 2012. So Ordered. D.P. Marshall Jr. United States District Judge Rx Date/Time OCT-30-2012(TU0E7):1 2 OCT/30/2012/0T9U:0E0 A M FAXN o. Case 4:82-cv-00866-DPM Document 4784 Filed 10/29/12 Page 1 of 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS WESTERN DIVISION P.001 P. 001 LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT PLAINTIFF v. No. 4:82-cv-866 DPM PULASKI COUNTY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1, et al. MRS. LORENE JOSHUA, et al. KATHERINE KNIGHT, et al. DEFEND.A.l~TS INTERVENORS INTERVENORS RESPONSE TO MAGNET SCHOOL BUDGET ORDER (DE 4781) The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), by and through its attorneys, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and Assistant Attorney General Scott P. Richardson, state for their Response to the Court's Magnet School Budget Order: 1. The State of Arkansas has requested release from the 1989 Settlement Agreement including the requirement to fund the six stipulation magnet schools. Docket Entry (DE) 4723, 4724. All of the parties have responded to this motion, except the Knight Intervenors. DE 4736, 4739 (NLRSD), 4737, 4738 (PCSSD), 4743, 4744 (LRSD), 4748, 4749 (Joshua)\nSee also DE 4753 (ADE Response to LRSD), 4757 (ADE Reply to Responses to Motion for Release). 2. The State's formal motion for release was filed on March 26, 2012. On June 29, 2012, the ADE asked the Court to enter a scheduling order setting the State's motion for hearing and allowing a short discovery period on the Motion. DE 4767, 4768. PCSSD (DE 4771) and LRSD (DE 4772) responded to this motion. No other party filed a response. 3. The 1989 Settlement Agreement requires the State to pay the Pulaski County school districts, on average, about $5,500,000 each month. To date, the State has paid over $1.1 Rx Date/Time OCT-30-2012(TU0E7): 12 OCT/3-0/20120/T9:U0E0A M FAXN o. P.0 02 Case 4:82-cv-00866-DPM Document 4784 Filed 10/29/12 Page 2 of 4 billion\none billion dollars more than this settlement agreement was anticipated to cost the State in 1989. 4. In addition to the Motion for Release, the State has filed a number of other requests that the Court take up the propriety, indeed the constitutionality, of the consent decree which forces the State to continue to pay millions of dollars to the Pulaski County school districts, including magnet school fimding. DE 4557 (ADE Response to Court's Order Requesting Briefing on the M to M Program Funding), DE 4631 (Response to Order (DE 4608) Soliciting Views on Periodic Review of 1989 S_ettlemenAt greement). 5. \"The legal justification for displacement of local authority by an injunctive decree in a school desegregation case is a violation of the Constitution by the local authorities.\" Board of Education of Oklahoma City Public Schools v. Dowell, 498 U.S. 237, 248, .111 S.Ct. 630, 637 (1991). \"[C]ourts must remain attentive to the fact that 'federal-court decrees exceed appropriate limits if they are aimed at eliminating a condition that does not violate federal law or does not flow from such a.violation.\"' Horne v. Flores, 557 U.S. 433, 450, 129 S.Ct. 2579, 2595 (2009) quoting Milliken v. Bradley, 433 U.S. 267, 282, 97 S.Ct. 2749 (1977). 6. The stipulation magnet schools have served desegregation purposes for many years in this case. As explained by ADE on each of the above noted occasions, the interdistrict nature of the magnet schools no longer serves to \"desegregate\" the school districts. LRSD and NLRSD are fully unitary. PCSSD is unitary in how it assigns students to schools. As such, the legal justification for a federal court mandate of continued State funding has abated. While the stipulation magnet schools may continue to provide benefits to LRSD students and to education in the County, how to support those schools should be for the State and the Districts to decide on their own now. 2 P. 002 Rx Date/Time OCT-30-2012(TU0E7): 12 0CT/}0/2012/T09U:0E0 A M P. 003 FAX No. P. 003 Case 4:82-cv-00866-DPM Document 4784 Filed 10/29/t2 Page 3 of 4 7. Accordingly, the State requests that decisions regarding State funding of the magnet schools be released from federal court jurisdiction. WHEREFORE, the ADE requests that the Court release the State from any and all federal obligations to fund the stipulation magnet schools, that the Court set a hearing on the State's Motion for Release, and for all other relief to which it is entitled. Respectfully submitted, DUSTIN McDANIEL Attorney General BY: Isl Scott P. Richardson SCOTT P. RICHARDSON, Bar No. 01208 Assistant Attorneys General 323 Center Street, Suite 1100 Little Rock, AR 72201-2610 (501) 682-1019 direct (501) 682-2591 facsimile Email: scott.richardson@arkansasag.gov ATTORNEYS FOR STATE OF ARKANSAS AND  ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 1 hereby certify that on October 29, 2012, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, which shall send notification of such filing to the following: Mr. Clayton R. Blackstock cblackstock@mbbwi.com Mr. Mark Terry Burnette mbumette@mbbwi.com Mr. John Clayburn Fendley, Jr clayfendley@comcast.net Mr. Christopher J. Heller heller@fec.net Mr. John W. Walker . iohnwalkeratty@aol.com Mr. Stephen W. Jones sjones@jlj.com Ms. Deborah Linton dlinton@jacknelsonjones.com Ms. Mika Shadid Tucker mika.tucker@jacknelsonjones.com 3 Rx Date/Time OCT-30-2012(TU0E7): 12 OCT/3{)/20120/9T:U01EA M FAXN o. Case 4:82-cv-00866-DPM Document 4784 Filed 10/29/12 Page 4 of 4 Mr. M. Samuel Jones , III sj.ones@mwsgw.com Mr. Jess L. Askew, III iaskew@williamsanderson.com Marie Bernarede Miller mmiller@williamsanderson.com Office of Desegregation Monitor Mr. Allen P. Roberts . allen@aprobertslaw.com Mr. Jamie Fugitt ifugitt@williamsanderson.com mqpowell@odmemail.com\nlfbryant@odmemail.com, paramer@odmernail.com P. 004 I, Scott P. Richardson, Assist.ant Attorney General, do hereby certify that l have served the foregoing and a copy of the Notice of Electronic Filing by depositing a copy in the United States Mail, postage prepaid, on October 29, 2012, to the following non-CM/ECF participants: Mr. Robert Pressman 22 Locust A venue Lexington, Mass. 021 73 . Mr. Michael K. Wilson Attorney at Law 602 Main St. Jacksonville, AR 72076 Isl Scott P. Richardson SCOTT P. RICHARDSON 4 P. 004 Kx ua1e111me NUV-~(-2~12(WE1D4): 50 N0V/07/2012/0W4:E3D9P M FAXN o. P.0 03 Case 4:82-cv-00866-DPM Document 4794 Filed 11/06/12 Page 1 of 4 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS WESTERN DIVISION LITTLE ROCK SCJIOOL DISTRICT v. NO. 4:82CV00866DPM PULASKI COUN1Y SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. I, ET AL. MRS. LORENE JOSHUA, ET AL. PLAINTIFF DEFENDANTS INTERVENORS KATHERIN.E.K.NIGRT,.ET..A..L  -------- ------------.IN.TERVEN.ORS PCSSD'S REPLY TO RESPONSE TO MAGNET SCHOOL BUDGET ORDER (DE 4781) The Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD) for its reply to response States: l. On October 2, 2012, the magnet review committee by fonnal motion and a vote of five to zero from those in attendan9e approved the final budget for the magnet schools for the 2011-2012 school year. 2. At the same meeting, the proposed magnet school budget for the 2012-2013 school year was also approved by a five to zero vote. 3. This Court after being fwnis.hed with a copy of a letter dated October 3, 2012, recounting the particulars of the budget and the votes thereon entered an Order dated October l 7, 2012 allowing objections if made by October 29, 2012. 4. The members of the magnet review committee attending and voting unanimously to approve these budgets constituted the representative from the PCSSD, the representative from the NLRSD, the representative of the LRSD, and the two representatives of the Arkansas Department of Education. P. 003 Rx Date/Time NOV-07-2012(W1E4D:5) 1 N0V/07/20!2/W04E:4D0P M FAXN o. P. 002 P. 002/002 Case 4:82-cv-00866-DPM Document 4794 Filed 11/06/12 Page 2 of 4 5. On October 29, 2012, the Arkansas Department of Education, by and through the attorney general's office, moved the court to \"let the court release the State from any and all federal obligations to fund the stipulation magnet schools\" and set a hearing and grant all further  - ----reli\"ef-Thptrse suttrnblyr epresentst he-A.DE's obJe-cti\\'.\u0026gt;tHob1uiideg ets\n-  --  ----.. - ----- ------- 6. In paragraph 7 of its \"response\" the State also \"requests that decisions regarding state funding of the magnet schools be released from federal court jurisdiction.\" 7. By way of reply\nthe PCSSD incorporates by reference the ''PCSSD's response to S.t~te.).m oJion_fo.rre k~~-from. 1. 9-.8.9..se!tlemenat.g reement\n~. filed .._ ApriL3 0, .201.2. (Document. 4737). 8. It is not clear exactly what the State means in paragraph 7 of its response. Perhaps some amplification is supplied in the last sentence of paragraph 6 of its response, where the State notes that: ''While the stipulation magnet schools may continue to provide benefits to LRSD students and to education in the county, how to support those schooJs should be for the State and the district to decide on their own now\n' 9. The PCSSD disagrees. Absent a settlement to sub1J1it to the court, the court should be involved in any decision as to how, if, or when the magnet schools should be modified both m terms of the rules which regulate them as well as how they are funded and, just as importantly, who would bear their expense if state funding is withdrawn. l 0. The State in its Motion for Release completely ignored the expense side of the issue, as the PCSSD pointed out in Document 4737 at Paragraph 22, which it likewise incorporates by reference. 2 I\n1- l Rx Date/Time NOV-07-2012(W1E4D:5) 1 NOY/07/20120/W4:4E0DP M FAXN o. Case 4:82-cv-00866-DPM Document 4794 Filed 11/06/12 Page 3 of 4 P. 001 P. 001/002 11. The PCSSD once again states that it is fiscally irresponsible to propose withdrawal of revenue without addressing how the concomitant expenses would be eliminated, abated, or somehow responsibly shifted to other funding sburces. funding issues by settlement rather than fiat. However, responsible resolution cannot be accomplished by simply withdrawing funding\nthe expense side of the equation has to be acknowledged and addressed. The State should propose a responsible resolution of the expense issue. _Tq__g_.iatt he as not,.d9.nes o, ... ------.. . __ ---- ------ ----....... ------- ..: .............................. . 13. Accordingly, the-PCSSD opposes the State's \"Response\" to magnet school budget order. WHEREFORE, the PCSSD prays for an order of this Court denying the ADE's response dated October 29, 2012 and for all proper relief. Respectfully submitted, MITCHELL, WILLIAMS, SELIG, GATES \u0026amp; WOODYARD, P.L.L.C. 425 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 1800  Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Telephone: (501) 688.-8800 Facsimile: (501) 688-8807 E-mail: s1ones@mwI:iiw.com Isl M Samuel Jones, III M. Samuel Jones III (76060) Allen P. Roberts 325 Jefferson Street, Southwest Camden, AR 71701 (870) 836-5310 FAX: (870) 836-9662 Attorneys for Pulaski County Special School District 3 Case 4:82-cv-00866-DPM Document 4797 Filed 11/13/12 Page 1 of 3 TN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS WESTERN DIVISION LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT PLATNTIFF V. LR-C-82-866 PULASKI COUNTY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. I, ET AL MRS. LORENE JOSHUA, ET AL KATHERTNE KNIGHT, ET AL DEFENDANTS TNTERVENORS INTER VENO RS LRSD'S REPLY TO ADE'S RESPONSE TO MAGNET SCHOOL BUDGET ORDER For its Reply, the Little Rock School District (LRSD) states: 1. On October 2, 2012, the Magnet Review Committee (MRC) unanimously approved the final magnet school budget for the 2011-2012 school year and the proposed magnet school budget for the 2012-2013 school year. The two MRC members appointed by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) voted in favor of both budgets. 2. On October 17, 2012, the Court submitted the budgets approved by the M RC to the parties and established a period of time within which objections to those budgets could be filed. The time period has expired and no party has made any objection to any of the specific components of the proposed magnet school budgets. 3. On October 29, 2012, the Arkansas Department of Education filed a \"Response\" to the Court's October 17, 2012 Order, not an \"Objection\" to the magnet school budgets. ADE's \"Response\" simply reiterates the State's general objections, which have been made and answered elsewhere, to continued enforcement of the 1989 Settlement Agreement. ADE did not present 1999191 1-BRENDAK Page I of3 Case 4:82-cv-00866-DPM Document 4797 Filed 11/13/12 Page 2 of 3 any specific objections to the magnet school budgets. Since the State continues to be obligated to fund its share of the interdistrict magnet schools, and since it has made no specific objections to the budgets proposed by the Magnet Review Committee, the Court should approve the budgets as submitted. WHEREFORE, for the reasons set forth above, LRSD prays for an Order approving the interdistrict magnet schools' final 2011-2012 and proposed 2012-2013 budget, and for all other relief to which it may be entitled. Respectfully submitted, LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT Friday, Eldredge \u0026amp; Clark Christopher Heller (#81083) 400 West Capitol, Suite 2000 Little Rock, AR 72201-3493 (501) 370-1506 heller@fridayfirm.com Isl Christopher Heller Clay Fendley (#92182) John C. Fendley, Jr., P.A. Attorney at Law 51 Wingate Drive Little Rock, AR 72205 (501) 907-9797 clayfendley@comcast.net CERTrFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on November I 3, 2012, I have electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, which shall send notification of such filing to the parties of record. Isl Christopher Heller 1999191 1-BRENDAK Page2of3 Case 4:82-cv-00866-DPM Document 4797 Filed 11/13/12 Page 3 of 3 1999191 1-BRE DAK Page 3 of3\nThis project was supported in part by a Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives project grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Council on Library and Information Resoources.\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\u003cdcterms_creator\u003eArkansas. Department of Education\u003c/dcterms_creator\u003e\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n "},{"id":"bcas_bcmss0837_177","title":"Magnet Review Committee (MRC) meeting, agenda, minutes, handouts, and reports","collection_id":"bcas_bcmss0837","collection_title":"Office of Desegregation Management","dcterms_contributor":null,"dcterms_spatial":["United States, 39.76, -98.5","United States, Arkansas, 34.75037, -92.50044","United States, Arkansas, Pulaski County, 34.76993, -92.3118"],"dcterms_creator":["Arkansas. Department of Education"],"dc_date":["2012-05-05"],"dcterms_description":null,"dc_format":["application/pdf"],"dcterms_identifier":null,"dcterms_language":["eng"],"dcterms_publisher":["Little Rock, Ark. : Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. Central Arkansas Library System"],"dc_relation":null,"dc_right":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"dcterms_is_part_of":["Office of Desegregation Monitoring records (BC.MSS.08.37)","History of Segregation and Integration of Arkansas's Educational System"],"dcterms_subject":["Education--Arkansas","Arkansas. Department of Education","Educational statistics","Education and state","Pulaski County (Ark.)--History--20th century","Magnet schools"],"dcterms_title":["Magnet Review Committee (MRC) meeting, agenda, minutes, handouts, and reports"],"dcterms_type":["Text"],"dcterms_provenance":["Butler Center for Arkansas Studies"],"edm_is_shown_by":null,"edm_is_shown_at":["http://arstudies.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/bcmss0837/id/177"],"dcterms_temporal":null,"dcterms_rights_holder":null,"dcterms_bibliographic_citation":null,"dlg_local_right":["Available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any other use requires permission from the Butler Center."],"dcterms_medium":["agendas (administrative records)","minutes (administrative records)","handbills","reports"],"dcterms_extent":["115 pages"],"dlg_subject_personal":null,"dcterms_subject_fast":null,"fulltext":"\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\nI. Call to Order MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE AGENDA May 15, 2012 II. Reading of the Minutes of April 17, 2012 Ill. Executive Director's Report A. Correspondence B. Financial Transactions C. Newspaper Articles D. Recruitment Update E. LRSD Original Magnet Schools Personnel - Vacancies and New Hires IV. Business or Action Items A. Stipulation Magnet Schools Evaluation Report- Discussion and Vote B. Set Next Meeting Date C. Stipulation Magnet Schools' Annual Principal Reports 1. Booker- Dr. Cheryl Carson, Principal - 8:35 a.m. 2. Carver- Diane Barksdale, Principal - 9:10 a.m. 3. Williams - Sandra Register, Principal - 9:45 a.m. 4. Mann - Patricia Boykin, Principal -10:30 a.m. 5. Gibbs - Dr. Felicia Hobbs, Principal -11:05 a.m. 6. Parkview - Dr. Dexter Booth, Principal -11:40 a.m. V. Adjournment DRAFT MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE MINUTES April 17, 2012 The regularly scheduled meeting of the Magnet Review Committee was held in the Magnet Review Committee Office, 1920 North Main Street, Suite 101, North Little Rock, Arkansas on Tuesday, April 17, 2012. Members Present: Bobby Acklin, NLRSD-Acting Chairperson Dr. Robert Clowers, PCSSD Oliver Dillingham, ADE Danny Reed, ADE Joy Springer, Joshua lntervenors Absent: Dr. Sadie Mitchell, LRSD- Chairperson Guest: Margie Powell, Monitor- Office of Desegregation Monitoring The meeting was called to order at 8:40 a.m. by Acting Chairperson, Bobby Acklin. He immediately called for a reading of the minutes of December 13, 2011. A motion was made by Joy Springer to approve the minutes as presented, and Danny Reed seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Donna Grady Creer provided the Executive Director's report. She called the Committee's attention to items in correspondence, with the first item being a memorandum to all three Superintendents and to the Education Commissioner inviting them to attend the Magnet Fair to be held at Park Plaza Mall on DRAFT DRAFT January 21, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Copies were given to each Committee member for their information. A memorandum was sent to all three districts' student registration personnel requesting their assistance for Magnet Fair. Copies were given to each Committee member, but no action was required by the MRC. The next memorandum was a thank-you to all student registration personnel who worked at the Information Booth at Magnet Fair. Copies were given to MRC members for their information. A thank you letter was sent to Melissa Griffith, Assistant General Manager at Park Plaza Mall, thanking her for her and her staff's help during Magnet Fair. Copies provided the MRC were for information only. Last, but not least, a memorandum was sent to all the school volunteer participants for Magnet Fair. Ms. Creer thanked everyone for their help in making the Fair a success. Copies were given to MRC members. A Court Order was received which approved the interdistrict magnet schools' final 2010-11 budget and proposed 2011-12 budget. No parties objected, so Judge Marshall issued the Order dated 27 December 2011. Copies were given to MRC members. Bills in the amount of $12,500.36 were presented for payment. Ms. Creer explained that the bulk of the expenses covered the Magnet Fair and enrollment advertising, form printing, etc. for the early enrollment period which began on January 23, 2012. Danny Reed made a motion to pay the bills, and Oliver Dillingham seconded it. The motion carried unanimously. Newspaper articles since the previous MRC meeting were given to MRC members for their perusal. Ms. Creer provided a brief recap. An article from Hogan Lovells providing information about how school districts may use race and race-neutral approaches in making student assignment -2- ORAFT Decisions was given to each Committee member. No action was required by the MRC. With regard to a recruitment update, a packet of information that was used during the registration process this year was given to Committee members. A detailed timeline was presented, advertising about locations where to apply, copies of the letters that the MRC Office provided to parents of rising 6th and 9th grade students, and the actual allotment numbers provided by the LRSD Student Registration Office was included in the packet. Each Committee member received their own copy of the packet, but no action was required by the MRC. Ms. Creer reminded MRC members about the process Little Rock School District used this year for registration. The first week of registration was held at an offsite location, while the second week registration returned to the Student Registration Office. The registration went so well that it most probably will be used again next year. Magnet Fair was a success again this year. Some of the schools want it to be earlier next year. The MRC Office is looking into this possibility. We want to do all we can to do what is best to maintain enrollment in magnet schools. All three districts would have to agree to this. Oliver Dillingham asked if a significant number of people asked to make this change. Bobby Acklin asked if the first day of application could be pushed back. Mr. Dillingham also mentioned that the time the Mall can accommodate the Fair is another thing that has to be considered. Parkview's Spring performance, Annie, had a great turnout, and Parkview's Senior Art Exhibit is being held this date. Several other events are scheduled, and Ms. Creer said that Parkview is making a big effort to advertise about applying to attend a magnet school at each of these events. The Stipulation Magnet Schools Evaluation Report was the next item on the agenda. A copy of the final draft was given to each Committee for their review. Ms. Springer said that she wants to read this first before making comment and voting on approval. It was agreed by consensus that all members would peruse the document and be ready to vote at our next meeting scheduled in May, 2012. -3- DRAF1 Mr. Dillingham says he wants to see something that addresses the disparity gap. It was further agreed by consensus that MRC read the report and e-mail the MRC Office with any questions. These questions would then be forwarded on to Dr. Jeanne Dreyfus, Consultant, for clarification. Dr. Robert Clowers noted several items that he questioned. There were a number of places that are printed in bold, and he felt that this needed clarification. A discussion was held with regard to the Stipulation magnet principals' reports. Ms. Springer said that she wants to see the information disaggregated by race and gender in all the data that is presented. Wants to see things as to who met AYP, etc. Dr. Clowers says he is interested in seeing the gap closed over time. Ms. Springer said this type of information should be available. Gibbs' principal was able to talk about who was not performing on items in the tests. Booker was one of the other ones. We need to get on the same page. It was agreed by consensus to hold the next MRC meeting on May 15, 2012, with the principals' reports on the agenda. The MRC meeting will begin at 8:00 a.m., and the principals' reports will begin right after the meeting. When no further business was brought before the Committee, Oliver Dillingham made a motion to adjourn, and Joy Springer seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 a.m. -4- MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE BILLS TO BE PAID May 15, 2012 1. Capital Business Machines 70.20 (Monthly Billing for MRC's Office Copier Maintenance Contract) 2. Aire Ark, Inc. 65.90 (Two Monthly Billings - February and March - to Provide Hosting for MRC's Website and e-Mail) 3. Mass Enthusiasm, Inc. 866.67 (Second Installment for Services Rendered to Provide New Website for MRC) 4. Aire Ark, Inc. 65.90 (Two Monthly Billings -April and May- to Provide Hosting for MRC's Website and e-Mail) 5. CompSys 240.30 (Services Rendered to Repair MRC Office Computer) 6. American Home Life 825.00 (MRC's Office Rent for May, 2012) 7. American Home Life 182.50 (MRC Communications Expense for April, 2012) 8. Capital Business Machines 70.20 (Monthly Billing for MRC's Office Copier Maintenance Contract) 9. Staples, Inc. 116.57 (Supplies for the MRC Office) 10. Central Arkansas Newspapers 229.00 (Advertising in the 2012 Baseball Magazine for North Little Rock, Jacksonville, Sherwood and Maumelle) TOTAL BILLS TO BE PAID $2,732.24 State gets 2 plans to cut costs School district has to find $11 million CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE The Pulaski County Special School District and its two employee unions submitted to state Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell by Monday's deadline conflicting proposals for cutting about $11 million in costs in the state-controlled, fiscally distressed district. In a letter late last week, Kimbrell \"respectfully request[ed]\" that the school district, the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers and the Pulaski Association of Support Staff provide to him \"specific, written recommendations on how the staffing and the fiscal practices of the [district] should be modified in order to realize $11 million in cost savings by the end of the 2012-13 school year.\" Kimbrell told the two sets of parties that the Arkansas Department of Education staff will use the proposals in deciding \"what binding recommendations\" to impose on the district. The Pulaski County Special district of 17,000 students and 3,000 employees is classified by the state as fiscally distressed because of past financial mismanagement and for expenditures exceeding revenue. The district is operating  See DISTRICTP,a ge ~ District  Continued from Page 1 B with a state-appointed superintendent and no locally elected school board. It has only until the end of the 2012- 13 school year to correct its financial problems or, by law, face merger with one or more other districts .. The budget-cutting plan offered Monday by Superintendent Jerry Guess and his staff includes slicing two days from the teachers' 192-day work year, discontinuing \"severance\" pay to retiring teachers and phasing out the salary credits that employees receive for completing district-taught short courses. In all, the district's proposal calls for cutting about $4 million in the 2012-13s chool year from provisions in the teacher and support-staff contracts that don't expire until the end of the 2014-15s chool year. The district plan envisions the budget cuts growing to $5.6 million in 2013-14, and $6.67 million in the next year, which would help the district cushion the possible loss of $11.6 million a year in special state desegregation aid. The state has asked a federal judge to end desegregation aid to the three Pulaski County districts, an amount that totals $70 million annually. The proposed $4 million in cuts identified by district administrators in the contracts would be paired with about $6.5 million in cuts outside the Professional Negotiations Agreements and include eliminating about 77 positions through layoffs, retirements and resignations, plus altering the school opening and dismissal times to save transportation and supervision costs. Those $6.5 million in cuts are not in dispute. The district plan envisions ending the coming school year with $14.1m illion, or 8.28 percent of annual expenditures, which is short of the district's goal ofl0 percent in reserves. But the district would attain its goal in future years as more of the salary costs for the district- taught short courses are removed. While the district is proposing $4 million in cuts directly affecting employees and their contracts, union leaders Marty Nix and Emry Chesterfield in their documents submitted to Kimbrell proposed an alternative $5.9 million in budget cuts that would not require a change in the contract language. Instead, the associations offered several short-term memoranda of understanding that would freeze or reduce employee costs next year but preserve the contract benefits over the long term. The associations, for example, proposed memoranda that would suspend employee attendance incentives\nreduce the amounts paid to employees for district-taught training and short courses\nand reduce the amounts paid to employees for supplemental work, such as coaching or sponsoring spirit group, music, drama and journalism programs. Employees with those supplemental contracts and are eligible for pay based on seven or more years of work would be frozen for one year at the pay level for six years of work. The unions' plan does not include reducing the teacher work year. The plan calls for saving $2.5 million by ~placing as many as 125 retiring teachers with lesser-paid teachers. The plan also calls for cutting by 10 percent the cost of district-purchased services and cutting by 10 percent the cost of materials and supplies purchased by the district - but not those supplies affecting students. District officials in their plan to Kimbrell anticipated that the unions would seek the 10 percent discount and argued that it wasn't realistic savings unless it could be ap-plied to fuel, insurance,utilities and building repairs. \"Fiscal prudence requires these expenditures to be budgeted sufficiently since there is often little control over the actual cost,\" district leaders wrote. Nix, the president of the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers, said the unions' proposed plan would result in total expenditures of $167.6 million and yearend balances of $16.9 million, which is 10.1p ercent of annual expenditures and the goal of district leaders. In the documents sent Monday to Kimbrell, the unions accused district leaders of attempting to void the Professional Negotiations Agreements in their entirety and replace them with their own set of personnel policies. The leaders of the unions \"appealed\" to Kimbrell to direct Guess to resume talks with the union leaders to resolve the budget issues. \"We too, as employees, voters and taxpayers are committed to a win/win result,\" Nix and Chesterfield wrote. \"The Unions and the Professional Negotiations Agreements are not the enemy,\" they continued. Kimbrell has invited the leaders of both unions to meet with him at 8 a.m. today. Arkansas Democrat-Gazettef ile photo William Goff, Pulaski County Special School District chief financial officer,( left)a nd districtS uperintendentJ erry Guess answer lawmakers' questions last week. On Friday the state ordered the district to cut its budget. PCSSD  Continued from Page 1 A est - are to receive letters by May 1 notifying them of the contract changes, including some pay reductions, Guess said. Kimbrell's Friday letter to Guess brings to an end several weeks of budget discussions between the district and the unions. Those talks began after Guess announced in midFebruary that failure to make millions of dollars in budget cuts - including contract concessions from the unions - would be \"fatal\" to the district, which has been categorized by the state as fiscally distressed. The district is operating with a state-appointed superintendent and no locally elected school board. It has only the next school year to improve its financial condition or face being ordered by state Board of Education to merge with other districts. . The district has an operatmg budget of about $170 million. Leaders of the two unions offered in the talks with Guess to forgo across-theboard raises and increases in district contributions to their insurance costs. Union leaders also proposed one-year suspensions of some benefits through \"memoranda of un, derstanding,\" but refused to agree to any changes in actual language of the contracts. Statet o districtC: ut budget,l op off unions County schools told to slash $11 million CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSASOEMOCRAT-GAZETfE The teacher and support- staff unions in the Pulaski County Special School District lost all collectivebargaining rights, and their 2010-15 negotiated contracts were terminated as a result of Friday directives from the state's education chief. Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell di- Last week, Kimbrell asked the two sides in the talks to present to him their budgetcutting plans with the admonition that he would make a fmal, binding decision. \"I would have preferred that PACT, PASS and PCSSD arrive at a mutually-acceptable agreement because that would have been the best outcome for the district's students, staff, administration, patrons,\" Kimbrell wrote to Guess in the Friday letter, copied to the leaders of the two unions. \"Regrettably, that did not occur,\" he said ''If PCSSD is to rected Pulaski County Special School District Superintendent Jerry Guess in a six-page letter to sever ties with the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers and the Pulaski Association of Support Staff, and to carry out nearly $11 million in budget cuts for the corning school year. days, ending employee attendance incentives, eliminating \"severance\" pay to teachers who re.tire, and phasing out over three years the salary increases paid to a majority of employees for courses taught in the district that fall short of college credit courses. Those budget cuts will include reducing the teacher work year by two days to 190 All state-certified employees in the 17,000-student district - the state's third-largSee PCSSDP, age 7A return to local control as a district that is fiscally sound now and in the future, significant action must be taken without further delay. In this regard, the PCSSD administration must be given the flexibility to swiftly implement several necessary actions aimed at removing the district from fiscal distress within one year.\" Marty Nix, president of the teachers association, and Emry Chesterfield, president of the support-staff association, issued a terse statement calling the action by the commissioner and the superintendent \"mean-spirited.\" The associations have called an emergency joint meeting of their members for 5 p.m. Monday at the Arkansas Education Association building for the purpose of taking direction on how to respond to the Kimbrell directives. A representative of the associations declined to speculate Friday on the possibility of employees taking a job action, such as a strike. Both associations have gone on strike in the past but, in.more recent years, successfully relied on Pulaski County court decisions to preserve their contracts and bargaining rights. Guess, the former superintendent of the Camden-Fairview School District who was appointed by Kimbrell to the Pulaski County Special district job last July, responded immediately on several fronts to Kimbrell's directives. His actions included sending e-mails to the union leaders and to all district employees and asking a fedem.l judge presiding in the 29-year-old Pulaski County school desegregation lawsuit to expedite a judicial review of Kirnbrell's More information on the Web PACT and PASS. PACT and PASS wouldn't even seriously discuss this possibility with me.\" \"So be it,\" Guess said. \"I re-the Pulaski County Special School District, filed a federal court motion asking U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. to quickly issue a judgment declaring that the state's binding recommendations to the district are \"legal, proper, and binding and should be obeyed by all parties to this action,\" including the two unions. tion taken in the long-running desegregation case, nor do I have the luxury to adopt the sense of certainty possessed by PACT/PASS.\" He said the unions overlooked the fact that the district must be declared unitary, or desegregated, by the federal court. To accomplish that, the district must have adequate funding to improve its school buildings that serve high percentages of black students. Kimbrell's letter, filings, and more arkansasonline.com/desegdocs actions, declaring them legal. new my commitment to you to be here with you - and for you - doing everything in my power to make this school district work. \"[T]h.is letter serves as notice to you both that the PCSSD is withdrawing recognition of PACT and PASS as the collective bargaining units for the District's licensed and classified staff effective immediately,\" Guess wrote to Nix and Chesterfield. \"Working together we can give you, the PCSSD employees, real job security - the real job security that is found in an economically sound, conservatively managed school district. It is found in hard-working, dedicated teachers guided by fair-minded, hard-working administrators working together Both unions have announced intentions to challenge the state's withdrawal of their recognition in state court, Jones said. But the federal court is the proper forum to decide the dispute \"and to do it most efficiently and with the greatest economy of time,\" Jones continued. \"Further, this letter serves as notice that the PCSSD is immediately terminating the PACT. and PASS [professional negotiations agreement] and simultaneously implementing the personnel policies for certified personnel and support- staff personnel. However, the District will continue to observe the co.mpensation/ fringe obligations of individual employee contracts until June 30, 2012.\" Guess sent a more conciliatory e-mail to the district's 3,000 employees, saying the onions \"simply weren't interested in making a deal.\" \"I want to prepare you for the coming bombardment,\" he said after assuring employees that their current salaries will continue for the remainder of this school year. 'Tm sure you'll hear over and over in days to come that getting rid of PACT and PASS was my main goal all the time. That's simply not true. I assure each of you that I did everything humanly possible over the past four months to negotiate new [professional negotiation agreements] with to provide the best possible education for their students.\" In an interview, Guess said the district's reliance on personnel policies committees to advise school boards and district leaders on employee working conditions is consistent with what is done in almost all Arkansas school districts. He said the new sets of proposed policies for teachers and the support staff are \"sit-ting on Dr. K.irnbrell's desk.\" Kimbrell, who serves in the role of the district's school board, will have to approve the policies. The unions last month filed two lawsuits in Pulaski County Circuit Court challenging the legality of forming personnel policies committees at a time when the district had recognized unions as contractbargaining agents. \"We are going to finish the year well, and we are going to have a good 2012-13,\" Guess said Friday. \"Parents should be reassured that th.is is a move to put the district in solid fmancial condition. It is a move in the right direction.\" Sam Jones, an attorney for Much of K.irnbrell's Friday letter dealt with the budgetcutting measures presented to him earlier this week by the unions, including a position statement in which the unions argued that the district was likely to win a multimillion- dollar court award from the state for inadequate transportation funding. Kimbrell called the associations' financial plans, in part, \"unclear\" and inadequate in terms of assuring the district's solvency in later years should the federal court allow state desegregatic\n\u0026gt;n aid to the district - about $ll million a year - to be terminated at once or phased out. \"PACT/PASS appear to request that PCSSD defer important decisions until a later date, arguing that beyond salary freezes for the 2012-2013 school year, '[t]here is no urgency for anything more at the present time,\"' Kimbrell wrote. \"I will not attempt to argue the merits of any legal posi- \"Second, whether state desegregation funding ends in one year or several years hence, sound budgeting practices dictate that PCSSD should not depend upon state desegregation funding in order to continue its operations,\" Kimbrell said. \"PCSSD must be able to show that it can continue its operations for the benefit of its students with or without state desegregation funding.\" Kimbrell said the district's budget plans, which include nearly $ll million in cuts the first year and will grow to $13 million when fully realized in the 2014-15sc hool year, address the potential loss of desegregation aid. Kimbrell said that without action, the school district would spend more than it receives in revenue to the point that it would have only $3 million in reserves next year, and by the 2013-14 school year, it would have an illegal $5 million deficit. \"It is my utmost hope and desire to return control of the PCSSD to whom it belongs - the district's patrons and locally elected school board,\" he said. Information for the article was contributed by Evie Blad of the ArkansasD emocrat-Gazette. . Educationno tebook CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE 3 state schools getd iamontda g Cabot Middle School South in.Cabot, Paris Middle School in Paris and Hells tern Middle School in Springdale have been named Arkansas Diamond Schools as part of the state's Schools to Watch initiative, a national recognition program developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform. The schools were cited for using research-based strategies within a school schedule to give every child access to a rigorous\nhigh-quality education. The schools are studentcentered with teachers and administrators who are deeply committed to the academic achievement of all students,  .Arkansas Schools to Watch co-directors Charles Green . and Mona Briggs said last week in announcing the selections. 4rkansas has had 10 schools feceive the honor since 2007.,Schools are designated fqr a three-year period, after which they must be redesi~ated. ,. Sho.wto feature studentsa'r tistry The Little Rock School District will showcase to the public the artistic talents of its students in kindergarten through 12th grades at the second annual Artistry in the Rock event April 29-30 in the Metroplex Event Center at 10900 Colonel Glenn Road. Musical and dramatic performances, as well as artwork exhibits, will be part of the free event that will be from 1-7 p.m. April 29 and 9 a.rn. to 2 p.m. April 30. The Artistry in the Rock is the result of work by the Little Rock School District's fine arts department that includes among its offerings elementary beginning band, piano laboratories at some elementary and middle schools, band and choir at all middle and high schools, orchestra at some middle and high schools, drai:ha at all high schools and dance at magnet seconda,ry sch9ols. Additionally, l3 of the fine arts specialists in the district have achieved national certification by .the National Board for Professiopal Teaching Standards. App developed ons tate'ss chools The Arkansas Department of Education's Research and Technology Division has developed an application that enables users of smart phones ard computer tablets to access information on Arkansas school districts, schools and educational cooperatives. The application, which can also be used on desktop and laptop computers, includes contact information and quick links to maps locating each school. The application is available for use by the general public. Those wishing to access the sitecan open a browser and navigate to adedata.arkansas. gov/mobile/. 8 LRp upils4, teacherws in StephenAs wards and Akef Abu-Rmaileh\nof Anne andJeffSimmermakMargaret Anne Beetstra of er\nAaron Yin of Little Rock Episcopal Collegiate School, Central High School, son of daughter ofJoan and Stephen Fengjuan Zhang and Wendud Beetstra\nCatie Edwards of Yin\nTiancheng Zhang of PuParkview Arts and Science laski Academy, son of Jinfen Magnet High School, daugh- Li and Werile Zhang. ARKANSASDEMOCRAT-GAZETfE Eight Little Rock high school seniors and four teachers received 2012 Stephens Awards on Monday. This, year, The City Education T,rust is providing $5,000 scholarships to the outstanding students and $7,500 cash awards to the instructors, a new~ release said. Jackson T. Stephens and W.R. \"Witt\" Stephens formed, the trust in 1985 with proceeds from the sale of the Stephens' interest in River- \"Ii. Video on the Web www.arkansasonline.com/video side Cable Television Co. The ceremony was Monday in the AT\u0026amp;T Auditorium at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce office. Student winners were: Muhammad Abu-Rmaileh of Little Rock Central High School, son of Aida Shanti ter of Joanne Edwards\nWhit- Winning teachers were: ney Gao of Little Rock Cen- Kara Branscum of Little Rock tral High Schoo.I, daoghter Christian Academy, Michelle of Li Tong and Xiang Gao\nDowell of Episcopal ColleRachel Madigan of Mount giate School, Melissa Anne St. Mary Academy, daughter \"Missy\" Gazette of Mount of Susie and Steve Madigan\nSt. Mary Academy and Betsy Tom Simmermaker of Cathe- Hall of Little Rock Central lie High School for Boys, son  High School. EDITOfUALS Itf inallyh appened Necessityc ouuin't lYaifto rever \"I'm tired of negotiating with you.\" -Every boss who ever lost patience with a staff of demanding whiners. \"I'm tired of negotiating with you.\" -Every long-patient, over-stressed teacher who ever had to put up with a spoiled brat in her classroom \"I'm tired of negotiating with you.\" -Every judge who was ever exasperated with an attorney who thinks of himself as some kind of privileged character. \"You're so 'SPE-cial.\" - The Church Lady on the old Saturday Night Live show. THE TEACHERS' union and its mate, the one representing staff workers in Pulaski County's long mismanaged school district, can't say they weren't warned. Time and again. The last warning came February 13th from the school district's emergency supennteilde\"nt \"and surgeon, Jerry Guess, who put it as plain as he could, as plain as it was, as plain as it should have been for years: \"What I will do if we do not succeed [in these negotiations], suffice it to say that I do have a plan for unilateral  implementation of the district's last, best and final offer to the unions during these negotiations.\" . Sure enough, he did what he had to do. It had long been time to either fish or cut budget He cut The school distric:t could go oI).ly so long dithering with unions that had been allowed essentially to negotiate with themselves. And the result was years of special privileges that ran  counter to the interests of public and  taxpayers, students and parents, the  State of Ark\nmsas and good sense in general. Not' to mention just plain economic necessity. At day's end Friday, necessity finally caught up with the special pleaders and especially privi-leged.  ,The unions .lost all their collectivebargaining powers, and a total of $ll million in budget cuts is to. be made during the corning year. The day of reckoning finally came: Friday, April 20, 2012. It took long enough. . Pulaski County's school district, now under new and long-needed management, just couldn't go on eternally dithering with its unions. The bills had to be paid. The school district had to be saved. For years the ruinous results of letting the unions have their every little way and whim have been all too obvious: Featherbedding contracts that were costing the much-burdened taxpayers millions in unnecessary expenses. How much? An estimated $13 million a year as of last February. And it hasn't been reduced by much since. Now it's down to $ll million and must be cut Eleven million dollars. That's how much fat still needs to be cut to avoid the school district's not being a school district any more but just part of anoth- er. (little Rock's? North little Rock's?) How to put this delicately? Folks, Pulaski County's school district is broke. And the brokenness is because of all the provisions in contracts \"negotiated\" by that former, elected, pandering management. (Read: the now-disbanded school board) The district could no longer afford those provisions, not that it ever could. Llke \"severance\" pay for teachers that were retiring, not being severed from the payroll. What a sweet deal. That, too, is over. How did this all happen? Well, there were elections to win, seats to hold, influence to peddle, unions to please. So what if the books got worse year after year? That would be somebody else's problem Kick it down the road. Well, we've come to the end of the road Somebody else rs now representing the long-suffering public, Le., the State of Arkansas. His name is Jerry Guess, appointed superintendent and.respon-sible party.    Over the I past few months, there were some piddling agreements, but no Agreement. And now the state has done what it needed to do. Jerry Guess' message to the unions was unmistakable Friday. \"I'm tired of negotiating with you\" MUCH TO the union's chagrin, an employer-in this case, the S~te. of Arkansas-can't just go on negotiating forever. Not without conducting its end of the negotiations from a banlauptcy court. Under the law, management can simply impose its final offezA: nd now it has done just that The taxpayers had been soaked enough by a school district run entirely too long by\nfor, and of the teachers' unions. The head of the teachers' union ~all~~ th~ state's decision \"mean-spirited, w~~h we g_uess is her synonym for realistic. But m a way the unions deserve . to be congratulated At last they've ended all their own special benefits and privileged positions. By abusing therp. for years. . Since the district is now the state the State of Arkansas has gone ahead and made the cuts it needs to make to keep the district solvent. And eliminated all the excesses in the contracts signed, lo, these many years ago. It had to. So we can keep school next year in Pulaski County. \"!'m d.:ed of negotiating with you,\" D:\"'1ght Eisenhower might as well have said to Orval Faubus in 19.57t,h e year when defiance and delay fmally came ' a-cropper here in Arkansas. Only Ike didn't need words\nhe had the 101st Airborne. In 2012, the people of Pulaski County and the State of Arkansas have a D~partment of Education, Tom W. Kimbrell, Commissioner. And now he's taken action, too. Let's hope it'll be an education, the real thing, for all concerned Not just the end of a contract stuffed with all manner of supposedly ever-flowing goodies at taxpayer expense for a couple of spoiled unions. 1-/-Z.'lIL Schootu nionsr uleouts trikeb utp lano thers teps CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSAS DEMOl\nRAT-GAZEITE Teachers and supportstaff employees in the Pulaski County Special School District won't strike but will take other steps to preserve their union representation and negotiated contracts, leaders of the two unions said Monday. \"Morale is low, but they. are going to go ahead and work out the year,\" Marty Nix, pr.esident of the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers, said about district teachers and the support staff after a 2-hour emergency membership meeting that was closed to the public. \"We want to put people's fears to rest,\" she said. \"There won't be a strike, especially in the near future. These students are going to finish the year on a good note.\"  The joint meeting of the teachers' union and the Pulaski Association of Support Staff was called in the wake of Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell's directive Friday telling Pl).laski County Special district Superintendent Jerry Guess to PCSSD  Continued from .Page 1 A sever ties between the district and its unions and terminate the employee contracts negotiated with those unions. Kimbrell further directed Guess and the school district - the state's third largest, with 36 schools and 17,637 students - to proceed with making nearly $ll million in cuts in the district's 2012-13 operating budget, including $4 million from employee benefits in the contracts. Guess welcomed the nostrike news Monday night. \"I'm really pleased they aren't contemplating any kind of job action,\" he said. \"I think what we do is really important, and. missing days for some sort of job-related statement - I would hate to see that happen to kids in the district.\" The budget cuts are intended in part to rebuild the financial reserves in a district designated by the state as \"fiscally distressed.\" It is operating under state control, with a state-appointed superintendent and no locally' elected school board.  Union members at the meeting affirmed support for their leadership and formed a crisis committee to involve parents and taxpayers in the dispute. \"We are going to handle it in court and in the court of public opinion,\" Nix said about the efforts to retain collective- bargaining rights and contracts that carry an expiration date of June 30, 2015. \"We're not going anywhere,\" she said. Teachers interviewed after the meeting said repeatedly that it was unfair that they will lose pay and other benefits while the superintendent makes a salary of $200,000 plus benefits. \"No one wants to give up a percentage of their salary when they see what the others are making,\" teacher Mi gnon Hatton said. Another teacher questioned why she should suffer losses as the result of the district being placed in }seal distress. \"I was in my classroom teaching,\" she said. \"I didn't sign a single check _or hire a single person.\" The stage is already set for the legal fight in both federal court and Pulaski County Circuit Court. The district filed a federal- court motion Friday asking U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. declare that the state's directives are \"legal, propet, and binding and should be obeyed by all parties to this action,\" including the two unions. Attorneys for the associations will file a response in opposition to that in the next few days, Nix said. ,  '. , Additionally, the associations last month filed lawsuits against teachers and supportstaff members elected to new district personnel policies committees. The committees are authorized in state law to malce recommendations on employee working conditions and benefits'in lieu of a union-negotiated contract: Nix said. she expects that those lawsuits, now pending in two different Pulaski Conty Circuit Court venues, will be expanded in light of more recent developments. Earlier Mond.i.y, Guess sent to all certified employees in the district a letter telling them that th,eir contracts will not be renewed for the2012- 13 school year. He is recommending instead that their employment be continued for the 2012-13 school year on different terms and conditions. The letter lists about a dozen changes that include reducing the teacher work year and pay by two days, from 192 to 190 days. O~her changes include the elimination of two days of sick leave a year, elimination See PCSSDP, age 6A of one day of bereavement leave, elimination of pay for some bus and recess duty, elimination of art attendance incentive, and the elimination of '.'severance\" pay~ents to teachers who retire. The attendance incentive is $100 per semester if a teacher takes no more than one day of leave, or $300 for the school year if no leave is taken. The severance payment is one day's pay times years served in the district.  Another significant changes is the phaseout of salary credits that teachers receive for taking district-taught courses r\u0026lt;1ther than collegecredit courses. More than 570 teachers are placed on advanced steps on the salary schedule because of district courses rather than college courses. Guess' letter advises the employees that they have a right to a hearing on the proposed changes to their PCSSDc osctu tsa tfe.ctingem ployeceo ntracts TheP ulaskCi ountyS peciaSl choolD istricti s makinga bout$ 11m illion in budgetc uts in the2 012-13 schooly ear,i ncludinga bout$ 4 milliont hat will be takenf rom benefitsp rovidedt o teachersa nds upport staff in theirn egotiatedco ntracts.T hes cho'odl istrict,a t the directiono f ArkansasE ducationC ommissioner TomK imbrelol n Fridayw ithdrew-recognitioonf thee mployeeu nionst hat negotiatedth ose contractsa nd terminatedth e contractsfo r teachersa ndf or supports taff. Followinga re thec uts thata re beingm adet hat affectt hee mployeesc'u rrentb enefits. Costs avings 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Eliminateb us duty overages paid to teachers En.niirlatepayme3n6tm sitfo1ru t8'SuperVpiS8ifOOn re . .\n. ...  $35,002 $35,.00~ $35,002 breakfast tutoring Eliminatel unch/recessd uty compensationt o teachers Reduce the number of bus duty stipends by 1/3 Reduce the teacher salary schedule by two days, from 192 to 190 days Eliminatet he annuala ttendancei ncentivep a'y fort eachers: adn,inistrators, support staff El_iminaoten e bereavementl eaved ay. . . Phase oui over three.years the.4% payment for proiessionai 101,578 107,678 132,599 795,000 102,615 30,000 101,578 101,578 107.,678 107,678 132,599 132,599 795,000 795,000 102.,615 102,615 }.0_.090 30_.000 gr~.Vvt~.~~.ntf~f~~rt ~t~. a,chers... .... .. ..... _ .. .. ....... . ... 409,.000 800,000 1,200,000 P.~~~~ .out.~t.a.ff..~~~~l~p_rn~~.t.son,p.f~~nr.,~~a.~t!p~p.ons~ ta .t.t. .............. 1.1.~A?..~. :)~~/~~. :::: :3-~1 ~6.?~ Phase out placement on salary schedule based on district courses 1,396,542 2,308,917 2,800,383 01sdiiiiiiiii\"1i\"s\"ii'ver~\nEeiiaimeiii\"iii.reiir1riii.iii.i.i ii1:iiyeiis\":'' .:: ::~~ :.s .~:.. q:o$..::~::o:~.:~.:: ~ao: s.:oa~ ctiann.agmee'6 f accruecfl eafvoe si ck'lea.:,eaii.d.. ................... ,. reduce by two days .. Totalc oste duclionfrso mt hee mployees'ineg91iated contractasn dr elatedp oliciefso ro there mployees Additionaels tirTJacteods to f unusesdi ckl eavlbonus for supporst tafft o matchp olicyfo r t~achers..-, ' Netc ostr eductionfsro mn egotiatecdo ntractasn d relatedp.o liciefso ro there mployees SOURCEP:u 1asCklo untyS peciaSl chooDl istrict contract and that the hearing must be requested within. 30 days of receipt of the letter. Nix said Monday that the employees will fight the changes in their contracts by asking for those hearings. The hearing is typically held before the school board. In the case of a district in state control, the state education commissioner serves as the school board. Guess' letter gives a website [pr the district's newly completed set of personnel policies, which will replace the terms of the current contract: www.pcssd.org. Communityreaction to the state action agasf the llilion recognition and tliircontracts, as well as the budget cuts, was mixed Monday.  , . Gov. Mike Beebe :is supportive ofKimbrell's d_edsion to end union recognition and mandate budget cuts, spokesman Matt DeCample said. . '1Commissioner Kimbrell kept the governor apprised throughout the process, and he obviously felt that this was the step that had to be taken to resolv~ ~e problems in the district,\" DeCample said. The governor's office trusted the Education Department's attorneys to consider potential leg\n hurdles before Kimbrell opted to end union contracts, I\n\u0026gt;eCample said. \"Y,,e trust them that they k\u0026gt;oked through all the possibilities before takil).g that step,\" he said. State Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, said she originally spported the state's takeover of the district. But Chesterfield, a former teacher union member and husband of Pulaski Association of Support Staff leader Emry Chesterfield, has since developed concerns about the \"broad and vague powers\" that state laws give leaders qver~eeing fiscally distressed districts.  Particularly \"distressing'' is having two appointed employees - Guess and Kimbrell - making major decisions once voted on in public meetings by an elected school board, Linda Chesterfield said. 218,970 218,970 218,970 .. \\. t \" . :/ ,  $4,239,941 $5,667,190 $6,673,530' .-:-1$4\n03~-~154 038 -154,038 ...... \\ 'ti  ... , 1 , t $4,085,903$, 5,513,152 $6,519,492 ArkansaDs emo~rat-Gazette \"I have not seen any change in the spending powers of this administration versus the previous one,\" she said. \"What I have seen is a lack cif parental involvement, period.\" L Ending union recognition is not the solution to the . district's financial pr.oblems, Chesterfield continued.  Under.proposed cuts, administrators will keep their current contract l.eri.gths while teachers will lose time, she said. \"No one identified the  unions as a problem\n, Chesterfield said. ''If we're going to change what is going on, there has to be shared sacrifice.\" In addition to parts of Little Rock, the district covers several smaller commui: J.i.tiesi,n cluding Jacksonville and Maumelle. . . Maumelle Mayor Mi.~hael Watson said he supported trimming some teache't benefits that weren't \"on par with the rest of.tM.state\" but he hadn't yet.formed an opinion .OI_l Kimbrell's decision to end union recognition.  . \"I think there were sorpe ltems that needed to be looked at,\" he said. \"I don't know if doing away with the contract completely was the way to go, but Ilhink it needed to be addressed in some form or fashion.\" In Jacksonville, residents are hopeful that the state's takeover and financi~l deci-  sions will put the city a step closer to its goal of having a separate, independent school district, Mayor Gary\"Fletcher said.  \"I th0k that we're getting to a pomt to recognize that the district is just too big to be managed,\" he said. . Information for this article was contributedb y Evie Blad of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. NLRsets deadline in schools chiefhunt CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE North Little Rock School Board members and a consulting firm hired last week to assist them in selecting a new' superintendent agreed Tuesday to a May 21 deadline for candidate applications and took other steps to get the search under way.  Kieth Williams, a retired Arkansas superintendent and now representative of the executive search firm McPherson \u0026amp; Jacobson of Omaha Neb., told board membe\ns that the timeline that calls for the po'ssible hire of a new superintendent by early June with _a start-work date of July 1 1s the shortest with which he has ever dealt. \"Nothing is goi~g fo ~e lessened in the process m regard to what we are doing in our home office and the effort [ we] are .putting into this \" Williams said in referenc~ to himself and his colleagues Bobby Lester and Diana Julian, who are both retired central Arkansas educators who work with the recruiting firm. The School Board voted in mid-March to seek a superintendent to succeed Ken Kirspel, whose contract does not actually expire until June 30, 2013, See SEARCHPa, ge 10Bf Search the characteristics and skills that the School Board would like to see in a new superin-  Continued from Page 1B tendent and will meet with community members at a 6 which is when he has said he p.m. meeting next Tuesday to wants to retire. do the same. Board members Board members have said are in the process this week they want'to try to put a new of nominating people to be superintendent in plac~ right invited to participate in that away, if possible, so the new \"stakeholders\" meeting. leader will be on hand for the Board members said they start of the district's five-year, would like a new leader to be $266 million school building a visionary, charismatic and and renovation program rath- experienced superu:itendent er than starting the job a year with proven leadership, ac~from now in the midst of the demic-improvement and f1- planning and construct_ion. nancial skills. School Board members The new superintendent said earlier this month that also should be willing to work Kirspel continues to have the in partnership with the School full support of the board and Board and able to work well he will remain the superin- with a diverse student body tendent in the coming year and staff in an urban setting, if a satisfactory successor is the board members agreed. not found. They also called for a new \"If we start this process leader to be open to instrucnow we are going to be with tional innovation, committed you until it is finished,\" Wil- to community health initialiams told the board Tuesday. tives and embrace technology \"If it is not finished July 1, then-as a learning tool. we are going to be with you To get further informaagain in September, starting . tion about what the general again, and we will go through public would like to see in the whole gamut of the pro- .a new sc.hool-district leader, cess and assist you in finding the McPherson and Jacobson someone. Our goal would be firm will place on its website to find someone by the end of and on the district's website December.\" a survey open to the general The district is expected public that will ask about the to pay no more. than $22,300 strengths of North ~ittle Rock in fees and expenses for the and the North Little Rock search, although Williams School District, and what a said that total will be less than new superintendent should that if a candidate is selected accomplish and what the obthis spring. stacles the new superinten- The company has already dent might face: , begun placing advertisements The_ supenn tendent s about the job opening in the salary m the 9,000-student Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . district is currently about ~d with state and national $152,000. Willi~s said t~at education organizations and the avera~e p~d _to supe~mpublications. The job is also tendents ll_l d1stncts_ similar advertised on the company's to North Little Rock 1s about website, http://www.mac- $170,000. He ur_ged ~o~rd njake.com. members to begm thmking The consultants spent about the amount t~ey want time Tuesday determining to pay a new executive. School Board member Scott Miller told his board colleagues that some North Little Rock businessmen approached him this week with a plan of possibly supplementing the district's salary offer to entice a \"world class\" superintendent candidate. That funding raised by the business community could be up to $100,000 a year for multiple years if the qistrict chooses to accept it, Miller said. . If the board is successful m hiring a new superintendent,  it plans to retain Kir~pel to assist the new supermtend~~t and possibly serve as a lJaJson between the board and the building plan consultants, DLR Group of Overland Park, Kan. LR schoolsu, nion.. to startm ediation Pay impasse takes federal step Friday CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETfE Representatives of the Little Rock School District and the Little Rock Education Association will start work with a federal mediator Friday morning to resolve an impasse in negotiations on a compen~ation package for this school year. Cathy Koehler, president' of the Little Rock Education Association, which is the union that represents all district employees except administrators, said Wednesday that there is \"a significant difference\" in the positions taken by the two negotiating ,teams on issues related to raises and health-insurance benefits. The association's team declared an impasse in the talks April 13. That prompted the call to mediator MarkMartin of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. tonight includes no items related to employee contracts and so no board action is ex~ _pected. Teachers in the 25,000-student district have a three-year contract that calls for annual negotiations on salaries and other financial benefits. In recent years, inclui:ling this year, district leaders and teachers have waited until mid-school year to begin salary talks so that the district officials have more accurate information on revenue that is available for across-theboard pay raises that are then retroactive to the beginning of the school year. Koehler said Wednesday that the association membership \"has been exceptionally patient\" and that won'.t happen next year. \"We are well aware of tlie responsibility of the district to not allow its fund balance to drop, but that' does not mean we ar~ .. going to lay over a.d t~e ri~yiing wh~J?:'th~y\n~aV\\:/ chosen to spend money Jar eignt:o).\"n ,inem 9.nths without thinking.about their emplo'f ee.s _t,all\"'K'b l  ,-,i,~dr, a,1 ,,., oe ,er sai ::f Koehler and Associate Superintendent Dan Whitehorn, who is the district's chief nego_tiator, both declined Wednesday io describe the offers and counteroffers in the nego_tiations, citing restrictions! in the ground rules that are used by the bargaining teams. \"I'm certainly coming to listen and learn and keep an open mind,\" Whitehorn said about the mediation session. \nDi~tric:t employee's' l'iave no't: !eceived aqross-the bbard raises this year, but eligil\n\u0026gt;lee mployees who have not reached the !OP of the salary scale have-received step increases for their additional yeru\n, di\"Jw\nt\u0026gt;erk}'P erience. \"My true hope is that we get this resolved using the federal mediator,''. said Koehler, who plans to lead informational pic)\u0026lt;ets to inform the public about the dispute, outside today's 5:30 p.m. Little Rock School Board meeting. The board's agenda for  FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012  3B No chan' gef orN LRs choolv ote, Boards taysw ithr egulare lections chedulea fterz oesr edrawn EVIE BLAD exemptions for districts that  cree, similar to North Uttle er was the soJevote against ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE 'meet certain criteria, includ- Rock's, to prove it qualified the resolution, citing some The North Little Rock ing compl\\ance with the fed- for the exemption. uncertainties about the state School Board voted Thurs- era! Voting Rights Act. The state Jaw s,ays certain Jaw. day to continue with its.reg- The district has never districts \"shall be exempt,\"  The three board members ular election schedule rather opened all of its zones in Jones said .. ' . whose terms expire this year than opening all seven seats one election sinceit began \".Courts have found that are Miller, who represents up for election in Septem- its current voting schedule. 'shall' is mandatory unless Zone 2\nDarrell Montgomery, ber.  in 1989, Superintendent Ken it results in absurdity,\" he. who represents Zone 3\nand State law requires re- Kirspel said. said. John Riley, who_represents drawing boundary lines in \"I would advise that we Abo.ut eight protesters Zone 7. , all zoned Arkansas school continue as.we have done,\" gathered outside the dis- The district's seven newdistricts where zones have he said. trict's administration build- ly reconfigured zones, apgrown unequal in population North Little Rock School ing to demand the board proved in March, are similar since a U.S. census. North District attorney St~phen open up all seats for elec- to the previous zones, but -Little Rock's board had al- Jones told board members tion. They waved signs with Zones 1, 2 and 3 that encomready approved new zone that federal courts previ~ slogans like \"shall is not pass the southern half of the boundaries. ously upheld the decision of mandatory.\"  clistrid are more compact In those situations, the. the Marvel] School District No one spoke in opposi- than before. Jaw also requires alJ school to claim an exemption from tion to' the board's plan reboard seats to be open for the election requirement. gardihg elections during the election after the zone lines That district pointed to a 30- meeting. ' are altered\nbut it provides year-old desegregation de- Board member Scott Mill- I NLR School Board rejects proposaflo rt eacherr aises EVIE BLAD ARKANSASDEMOCRATGAZETIE The North Little Rock School Board rejected a request from _itsP ersonnel Policies Committee on Thursday to provide a 3 percent raise to the district's teachers. Financial .uncertainty makes it a difficult time to increase salary costs, board members said. But they did not rule out potential raises in the future as administrators settle que~tions about projected enrollment, building timelines and plans to trim the district's budget in other areas. \"We want you to understand that we have not forgotten you,\" School Board Presi dent Dorothy Williams said. \"You are still on our radar.\" Without the raise, most teachers will receive a pay increase next year as an additional year of experience brings them to a new \"step\" on the district's salary plan. The raise proposal from the committee of certified personnel would have added 3 percent to each of those \"steps,\" costing' the district about $806,000, committee Chairman Majoice Thomas said. The cornrnittee proposed app,lying the raises retroactively for the 2011-201s2c hool year. If they had been approved, teachers would have received back pay. \"All we ask is that, in all of your planning, you do not forget about the teachers,\". Thomas said. She noted the board'~ decision to cut a !\n\u0026gt;onus it previously provided for teachers who have perfect attendance  during a given semester as another example of belt-tightening some teachers have faced. Board members said they would be willing to consider raises after the Arkansas Department of Education clarifies when it expects to contribute to the district's building plan and after enrollment proj.ections give leaders a better sense of the school system's financial fu-ture.  North Little Rock schools have lost enrollment for the last two academic years, Superintendent Ken Kirspel said. LR districtu, nionf ail to reach' ~c~Qrd .  ~- CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETfE . Representatives of the Little Rock School District and the Little Rock Education Association ended a full day of mediation Friday over employee pay raises for the current school year, with plans to resume talks at 1 p.rn. Wednesday. it up today but we didn't,\" said Deborah Desjardin, a middle school math teacher and chairinan of the association's negotiations team. The association is the ~nion and contract bargains ing agent for teachers as well as for most .support staff, except for administrators.  \"It's ongoing,\" said district \"We were hoping to wrap Associate Superintendent Raises  Continued from Page 1 B the bargaining teams' ground rules. The negotiations are not open to the public. . \"As long as you are talking, you are doing all right,\" Peggy Nabors, a spokesman for the union team, said at the conclusion of the session, which started about 8:30 a.m. and ended after 5 p.m., with a break for lunch. I, Teachers in the 25,000~ student district, the state's largest, have a three-year contract that calls for annual negotiations on salaries and other financial benefits. In recent years, including this year, district leaders and teachers have waited until mid-school year to begin salary talks so that the district officials have more accurate information on any revenue that is available for across-the-board employee pay raises. The union team decla.red an impasse in the talks April 13, and the teams then brou.ght in mediators Mark Martin of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and Barry Strange from the Arkansas Department of Labor. The mediators will continue to work with the teams Wednesday, Desjardin said Friday. While there has been no agreement on an acrpssthe- board pay raise,, eligible employees did receive a step increase for their additional year of teaching experience, as, they do every year. 'However, the district's longest tenured employees - those at the top of their salary schedules - are ineligible for the step increases, which range between 2 percent and 3 percent. Friday's talks came on the heels of a Thursday night School Boarcj. meeting that started with tejlchers and other association members lining both sides of the ,800 block of Markham Street chanting an~ waving signs that called for employee raises. Cathy Koehler, president of the association, told the School Board that it is time to resolve their differences, \"We have conducted ourselves for 10 or 11 months now as a peace-loving group of people who have not -disrupted school or not in any way disrupted student learning,\" Koehler said, \"The time has come to get a resolution on a financial agreement.\" Thursday's board meeting  agenda included no items directly related to the negotiations, The board members took no action on the matter other than to express appreciation for employees and urge that all parties work together and remain partners to benefit students despite any differences of opinion on how to operate the district. Dan Whitehorn, who is the spokesman for the district's negotiations team. _ \"We listened to their proposals and tried to keep an open mind,\" Whitehorn said, \"We look forward to meeting with them again Wednesday.\" The district and union teams are atte,mp'ting to reach a tentative agreement on a compensation package - includin~ .a possible pay raise or changes in the district contribution to employee health insurance - for the 2011-12s chool year that ends for students on May 30 and for teachers on May 31. Neither team would describe the offers and counteroffers, .citing restrictions in See RAISESP,a ge1 2B \"We strive for consensus and to work together because we know that if we pull together , .. we do our best work,\" board member Greg  Adams said. \"We know there are going to be disagreements.\" In the 2010-11 schoolyear, teachers and support staff received a 1.5 percent across-the-board pay increase, an increase to the distriizt's contribution to health-insurance premiums and a $750 bonus.,  In the 2009-10 school year, the Little Rock School Board and the teachers union approved a 1.25 percent pay raise for teachers. In 2008-09, the pay raise was 0.5 percent\nin 2007-08, it was 2 percent. In 2006-07, employees received a 3 percent raise. Step increases for experience were also paid in each of those years to eligible employees. Allowc ounty-districspt lit, aid phaseoutj~u dgeu rged CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSADSE MOCRAT-GAZETTE The Pulaski County Special School District on Monday proposed an eight-year phaseout of millions of dollars in state desegregation aid and the formation of a new, 10-school Jacksonville school system as a way to ~eet desegregation obliga-tions. , Attorneys for the 17,000- stude.n,t district made the proposal to U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. in response to a March 26 :request by the state to be Schools  Continued from Page 1 A gation funding. The 1989 settlement serves as the basis for special state d~segregation funding to the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special school districts. That funding _is now about $70 million a year and totals more than $1 billion since the agreeme?t. The money helps finance Little Rock's six original magnet schools and all three districts' majority-to-minority interdistrict student transfer programs, employee health and retirement costs, and general operating expenses. The magnet schools and majority-to-minority student transfer program in particular \"':'ere designed to promote racial desegregation of schools and the districts. Sam Jones of Little Rock and Allen Roberts of Camden tl:e Pulaski County Special dis~ tnct attorneys, said that instead of accepting the state's motion, the judge should modify the 1989 settlement because released from financial and other desegregation obligations in a 1989 settlement agreement to the Pulaski County school desegregation case. The Pulaski County Special district attorneys said the state's motion to immediately end desegregation aid should be denied. Attorneys for the Little Rock and North Little Rock school districts also responded Monday to the state's motion, urging the court to deny the request to end desegre-ree SCHOOLPSa, ge 7~ the agreement nas not completely _fulfilledi ts purpose of producmg three unitary or desegregated districts in Pulaski County. . ~e Pulaski County Special distnct has yet to achieve unitary status in nine areas of its operation, including its faciliti~ s-The Little Rock and North Little Rock districts have been declared fully unitary by the courts. \"The State essentially arg: ues for a complete obliterat10n of the 1989 Settlement Agreement,\" Jones and Roberts wrote. \"However, while the agreement might warrant the substantial changes proposed  by PCSSD, it has not yet reached the point where it should be jettisoned wholesale.\" They said that \"much of 0e agreement should remain m place, or even enhanced\" un~ the district becomes fully urutary. \"The District proposes that the Court approve the creation of a separate Jacksonville area school district,\" Roberts and Jones wrote. ''Its creation would ~ot ~ave a segregative impact m either a new Jacksonville School District, or in PCSSD sans Jacksonville. Its creation would be popular among the patrons of Jacksonville and the residual PCSSD. Popular support remains a critical element in attaining unitary status.\" The attorneys said the new Jacksonville district would be eligible for a far greater share of state funding for new and renovated facilities than the Pulaski County Special district could receive on its own for the Jacksonville area schools. And the detachment of the Jacksonville area would reduce the number of facility projects that the remaining Pulaski County Special district would have to address to comply with the_ terms of its 2000 desegregation plan, they said. Some Jacksonville civic and government leaders have wor~ed for several years to establish a school district independ_ ent ~f 0e Pulaski County Special distnct, saying a Jacksonville district could be more competitive with nearby school systems such as Cabot. A move to form a Jacksonville district was thwarted in 2003 \"\".hen, at the urging of the Pulaski County Special district, a federal judge detennined that d~taching Jacksonville would hinder desegregation efforts in the remaining Pulaski County Special, Little Rock and North Little Rock districts. _Jerry Gues~. the state-appomted Pula_skCi ounty Special School D!Stnct superintendent, said in an interview Monday that a 4,500-stud_ent Jacksonville school system could be eligible to receive more t~an half of its building renovat10n funds from the state. The Pulaski County Special district, determined.to be a 'wealthy' district, is eligible to receive from the state less than 3 percent of its building and renova-tion costs.   The remaining Pulaski County Special district would have about i2,500-students and 26 schools, Guess said. \"We think it would greatly enhance the operational efficiencies for this district and that district,\" he said. A Jacksonville district would likely include both Jacksonville and North Pulaski high schools as well as Jacksonville Middle 'and seven elementary schools - Bayou Meto, Arnold Drive, Tolleson,' Adkins, Tay\\or, Pinewood, and Dupree. Jones and Roberts t~ld the judge that they agree Wlth the state that it.is time to end the ,\nprotracted litigation\" in.what will be a 30-year-old school desegregation lawsuit this )'.ear. In addition to formmg a separate Jacksonville district, they recommended that the judge modify the 1989 s~~lement agreement by requmng the district and state to comply with the district's desegrega~ tion plan within three y_e~rs, and fix the school fac1ht1es within a reasonable amount of time. A federal appeals court in December.affirmed a lower court's finding that the Pulaski County Special district h~d failed to meet its obligations m. regard to student as.sigriment to schools and classrdoi:ns, Advanced Placement and gifted education, discipline, ~c\nhool facilities, scholarships, special educ,i.tion, staffing, student achievement ahd monitoring. : Jones and Roberts also pr_oposed a phaseout of the special state desegregation funding that amounts to about $20 million a year to the district. That phaseout. would be done -by providing the full amount of funding for the coming 2012-13 school year and then reducing the annual amount over the next eight years so that the final desegregation payment in 2019-20 would be 80 percent of the amount paid to the district this coming year. Additionally, Roberts and Jones proposed the three Pu. laski County school districts present the court with a pl'.111 for phasing out state and district financial support for the six original special-program magnet schools in Little Rock and the majority-to-minority interdistrict student transfer program over no more than seven years. The magnet schools - Booker, Carver, Gibbs and Williams elementaries, Horace Mann Middle and Parkview High - along with the interdistrict transfer program were designed to promote racial desegregation in the three school districts. The state pays one half tl,ie education costs for the magnet schools and incentive costs to participate in the interdistrict transfer program, as well as all student transportation costs. Adding an unusual twist to the case, the Pulaski County Special di.strict is currently classified by the state as fis-  cally distressed and is operatingi under state contrcil, with a state-appointed superintendent and no elected school board. Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell serves as the school board for the district. However, because the state and the district have opposing interests in regard to the 1989  settlement and desegregation .agreement, the school district by court order doesn't confer with Kimbrell and the state Department of Education about its legal positions in the desegregation case. Guess said Kimbrell was not consulted or even told about the district's posttion in the court filing.  \"We have carefully avoided discussing these issues,\" Guess said. Chris Heller and Clay Fendley, attorneys for the Little Rock School District, which is the plaintiff in the case, said the state is asking to be released from its commitments under the '1989 settlement and related agreements on the magnet schools and majority-to-minority transfer program with~ut showing that it complied Wlth those agreements in good faith or that it has eliminated the vestiges of its constitutional violations to the extent practicable. \"The state's request must be denied as a matter of law,\" Heller and Fendley told M\n:u:shall. \"There is no point in pro- ceeding to develop the factual record under the wrong legal standard_.\" they said. \"The State's Motion for Release should be dismissed for failure to state a claim.\" Stephen Jones, an attorney for the North Little Rock School District, also said that the state !'has a burden of proving it has complied with the 1989 settlement agreement and the existence of any changed circumstances that justify the relief it seeks.\" He also urged that if the judge determines the state desegregation money-should be terminated\nthat it be phased out and not ended immediately.  \"The districts need a transition period to maintain fiscally  sound schools,\" Stephen Jones wrote, adding that the districts need to uphold promises made to students who participated in the magnet and interdistrict transfer programs. Those students should be able to complete the grades in their current schools, he said. The Joshua intervenors, who represent black students in all three districts, asked for a deadline extension to turn in its response. $70,000in f oodatPulaskCi ountys chooles ~ires ' . . . . . CYNTHIA HOWELL en patties, fajita meat, pasta, Scott in that position. District ify for another job within the. walk. away. Without pointing :{\\~SAS DE~OCRAT:GAZETIE tomatq.pa~te\ncorri, beans and officials refused to comm~nt  district. He was director of .f mgers,'that's about all I can Some l,600 1cases of food blueberritf\n-to a pe_rs6rm.el T.sday on Scott's employ'-'\nthe student nutrition depart- say.\" valued at more than $70,000  problem. . .   . m_~~t ,statfis. in ,the district,'. ment f\u0026lt;?r the _past four years . _. . Goif sai~ the _district has and provided by the U.S. De, \"This is a lot of free stuff,\" saymg that. it was an unre- . \"I didn't have control of . been workmg smce he bepartment of Agriculture at nq Goff said,. calling the waste . solved personnel matter. the warehouse\" where ,the gari. his job there last August cost to the Pulaski County \"inexcusable.\" ''.And instead -Scott, contacted at his food was stored, Scott .said. on improving practices and Special Schoor District. be-' of using the free s'tuff, -0-e hqme, said Tuesday that he' \"B\\lt it ultimately fell OI). me,\" adding controls in t:p.es tudent came outdated arid now must- werebuying\"fro~vendors to. was asked by district offi~ . he said about the resporisibil- nutrition department. be destroyed, district officials feed kids.\" c.ials to leave that job and he . ity But he alsosaid that \"if the said Tuesday. Regena English became . intends to do so. He will not . \"It was a very stressful controls that wer\\! in place Bill Goff, the district's chief the istrict's interim director: challenge the dismissal by re-. yeai: going through the.fiscal - ~specially if the existing financial officer, :attributed of student nutrition\u0026gt;'effective questing a hearing. distress of the district. They policies and regulations had  the expired food.:_ some' 6f Tuesday, Goff said.  However, th.e 27-year dis- said they couldn't affo_rdt o. bee_nf ollowed ...!..iwt ould not, which included cheese, chick- Englis~ repl_aees I?ale tJ\ni!::et mployee hopes to qual- 'lose .that money. I chose to See FOODP, age 4B. Food  Continued from Page 1 B have happened. There is no excuse for it.\" The expired commodities were discovered last month in an Arkansas Department of Human Services monitoring visit to the School District's warehouse, Goff said. The state agency is responsible for overseeing the distribution of U.S. Department of Agriculture commodities. The warehouse review also uncovered a similar amount of food that was nearing expiration. However, the district has been able to incorporate that food into its menus for school meals or transfer it to other school districts that can use it promptly, Goff said. \"We're not proud that it happened,\" Goff said about the aging inventory. \"But we are glad it got discovered when it did.\" The district also had to destroy old food in 2010, Goff said. The Pulaski County Special district, the third largest in the state with about 17,000 students, typically receives up to $~00,000 a year in USDA commodities for its schoolmeal service, Goff said. Deal feached . . . in LR district sets 1 % raise Tentativep act now awaits board,u nion-memberO K CYNTHIA HOWELL a copy of the tentative agree- ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE ment in response to an Ai- Little Rock School Dis- kansas Freedom oflnformatrlct teachers and support tionAct request. staff will receive a 1 percent School district and emraise retroactive to the be- ployee association leadginning of the current school ers were finalizing plans year if a tentative agreement Wednesday evening for ratireached Wednesday is rati- fying the proposal at special fied by the School Board and meetings later in the week. union members.  Late Wednesday evening, the Negotiating teams for Little Rock School Board anthe district and the Little nounced it would hold a speRock Education Associa- cial'meeting at 5 p.m. Friday. tion, which is the contract cathy Koehler, presibargaining agent for the dent of the association, said teachers and support staff in Wednesday. that she was the district, also tentatively pleased with the tentative agreed to a $16.92 increase in agreement and the tone it the district's contribution to sets for continued collabo, the monthly health insurance ration between the district ~remiums for participating  and its employees. employees. \"I can't help but smile a That would increase the whole lot about this one right district contribution from now,\" Koehler said, adding $301.44 a month to $318.36, that the tentative agreement retroactive to Jan. 1 of this was reached without any disyear. ruption to students or to the District officials released  See RAISEP, age 2A Raise  Continued from Page 1A community. Jody Carrejro, president of the Little Rock School Board, said he was happy to see the completion of the .talks. . \"It was not my, first choice, but in negotiations things seldom are your first choice,\" Carreiro said about the agreement terms. \"But I'm pleased, very happy, No. l, that it is done and, No. 2, I think it is a reasonable deal, for the district and for the teachers.\" A 1 percent increase to all eligible employees\nwould produce a beginning.salary-of $33,617.85fo r a teacher.with a bachelor's degree and no experience. The beginning salary is currently $33,285. Tlie district's top teacher salary'is. $64,841. A 1 percent increase would add $648.41 to that. ' Dani.el Whitehorn, -associate superintendent for secondary education and the district's chief negotiator, thanked Peggy Nabors, the chief negotiator for the Little Rock Education Association, and her team of teachers and support staff for working with the district team. ''We are all really about the same thing, w)J.ich is student achievement,\" Whitehorn said immediately after the two-hour negotiating session Wednesday. \"We nee'd to work together and we need each other's support to make student achieveient happen. We didn't w\npit to be apart on salaries\n'' \" . Whitehorn:acknowledgeii that the tentative agreement took'some time .. i ~ The twotteams began talks in March ap.d ,the .teachers' team declared_ an impasse April 13. That prompted the call by the teamtos M arkMartin, a mediator with the Federal Mediatidn and Conciliation Ser-vice, -and 'Barry Strange, a mediatonwith the Arkansas Department of Labor. Bothmediato\"rs worked with the teams last Friday and again Wednesday. ,  \"We clearly ,had tp understand each other's.position,\" Whitehorn said. \"I think it to.ok a while.:for that .to play out - for us to get all the facts ancf for them to get all the facts,- on what is really going on. The, mediators had \"Wtfare ~~ really about the same thing, whichi s student achievementW. e need to work t~gether and we neyd each other's support to niake student achievement happen. We didn't want to.be apart on - salaries.\" , - DanielW hitehornt,h e district'cs hiefn egotiator  ' to no across-the-board pay raises for the current 2011'12 school year after the district was taken over. by the_ state last summer. . St~te officials, in consultation with Pulaski County Special district lead.ers, are imposing salary cuts for the 2012-1_3sc hool year, in part through a two-day reduction in the teacher work year plus the phaseout of salary cred-its that employees receive for a key role in clarifying that ever, the district's longest-ten- district-taught short courses. for both $ides.\"  ured eynployees -those at the Little Rock School Dis- Teachers in the 25,000- top or their salary schedules trict teachers have typically student !district with 3,800 - are ineligible for the step in- received annual across-theemploye~ s\nhave a~ee-year creases, which range between board raises. contract that calls for annual 2 percent and 3 percent. In the -2010-11_,schoyoel ar, negotiatio.ns on' salaries and The Little Rock district-is teachers and support staff other financial benefits. likely to be the only one of received a 1.5 percent across- In recent years, inolud- the three districts in Pulaski the-board pay increase, an ing this year, district leaders County to provide ac-ross- increase to the district's conand teachers have waited un- the-board raises to its teach- tribution to health-insurance til the middle of the school ers and other employees this premiums and a$750 bonus. year to begin salary talks so school year. In the 2009-10 school year, district officials, have more The North Little Rock. the Little Rock School Board accurate informalioh on any School Board last week re- -and the teachers union aprevenue that is,avai!able for jected a request from that proved a 1.25 percent pay across-the-board.employee district's Personnel Policies raise for teachers. pay raises. Comeflittee to provide a 3 In 2008-09, the pay raise While there has been no percent raise to the districts was 0.5 percent\n_in 2007-08, across-the:board raise so far teachers, saying that financial it was 2 percent. In 2006-07, this year, eligible. Little Rock uncertainty made it a difficult employees received a 3 perdistrict employees did,receive time to increase salary costs.  cent raise. Step increases for a step increase.for an cldition- Teachers and other. em- experience also were paid in al, year of teaching experience, ployees in the Pulaski County each of those years to eligible as th~y.~q,o\\every ye~i.How- Special-School District agree.d  employees. ., Gunfireleaves LR students uninjured Alabama space camp hit by shots DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF AND WlRE REPORTS A group of Little Rock fifth-graders attending space camp in Huntsville, Ala., were never in any danger when shots were fired at the U.S. Space \u0026amp; Rocket Center's Davidson facility Thursday morning, a school district spokesman said. Shortly before 10 a.m., three shots were fired into the building that houses the Saturn V rocket, with at least one bullet striking the rocket, a Huntsville television station reported. Investigators said the shots likely were fired from Interstate 565, which runs adjacent to the facility. Pam Smith, a spokesman for the Little Rock School District, said the 43 students from Carver Magnet Elementary School were in an exhibit in the interior of the facility when the shots were fired and were \"never in harm's way.\" Smith said it was the students' last day at the center before returning to Little Rock today. The students left Little Rock on Wednesday with three teachers and eight chaperones for the space center, a trip students from the school have made regularly for 20 years, she said. Parents were notified in a letter and phone call Thursday afternoon, Smith said. No injuries were reported in the shooting. 2 unions in district plan rally at Capitol ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE The Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers and the Pulaski Associatioh of Suppo~ t Staff, .employee organizations that lost the right last month to represent Pulaski County Special School District employees in contract negotiations, are hosting a rally on the state Capitol steps Saturday. The rally, which is to start at 10 a.m., will feature speakers Marty Nix, president of the teacher organization, and Emry Chesterfield, president of the support staff. pne of the purposes of the rally is to enable members of the public to show support (or teachers and support staff 1~ the Pulaski County Special district and in all public schools, according to a news rel~ase issued by the organizations. Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell last month directed Superintendent Jerry Guess to sever the ties between the district and the two unions, and terminate the employees' contracts that were otherwise due to expire in June 2015. The district, which is in fiscal distress and under state control without an elected school board, also was directed to carry out nearly $11 million in budget cuts for the coming 2012-13 school year. Those cuts, including a twoday reduction in the teacher work year, will result in reductions in employee pay. Guess complied with the directives from the state. Union leaders have said they will fight the loss of the con~ ract and negotiating rights m court. Studentsu rgej udge to keepd istrictsa' id ARKANSAS DEMOC!t'.T-GAZEITE Attorneys-for black students in the three Pulaski County school districts on Friday urged a fede/al judge to deny the state's request to be released from financial and other commitments it made in a 1989 school agreement in the county's long-running desegregation case. The Arkansas attorney general's office, on behalf of the state Department of Education, filed a motion in March asking U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. to relieve the state of 23-yearold obligations, which have resulted in the payment of more than $1 billion in desegregation aid to the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special schc:ioi districts. ' In that time, the Little Rock and North Little Rock districts have been declared unitary and the Pulaski County Special district partially unitary by the federal courts. The.state has argued that the changed circumstances in the districts warrant the release h --\\ ~ L More information  on the Web Dislriclsta keovearn dd esegregation arkansa~online.com/documents/ of the state.  J John Walker and Robert Pressman, attorneys for the black students who are known as the Joshua intervenors, argued Friday that that the Pulaski County Special district has fallen short of fully implementing its desegregation plan \"due in large part to the historic, laissez faire approach of the State to simply pay money and do nothing else to help the district meet its obligations.\" The Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special distric\nts filed motions ii}. opposition to the state's motion earlier this week. Marshall has set a,.May 21 deadline for the attorney general's office to file its response. No hearing date.has been set for the issue. 2B  SATURDAYM, AY 5, 2012  1 % school raise approvedin LR Board also OKs $16.92 more for contributionto insurance CYNTHIAH OWELL ARKANSADS EMOCRAT-GAZETTE The Little Rock School Board at a b~ief special meeting Friday approved a 1 percent across-the-board raise for nearly all employees and a $16.92 monthly increase in the district's contribution to employee health insurance costs for the current 2011-12 school year. The board voted 6-0 to finalize the compensation agreement that was negotiated between representatives of the district and the Little Rock Education Association, the contract-bargaining agent for teachers and for support staff such as custodians, bus drivers, security officers and secretaries. Union members approved the agreement at a meeting Thursday, Peggy Nabors, a spokesman for the association's team, told the School Board. While the association negotiated on behalf of teachers and the support staff, the raise ~d health-insurance increase will appLy to all employees, including principals and associate superintendents.' Only Superintendent Morris Holmes will not automatically receive the 1 percent increase. He negotiates his contract separately with the School Board. The raise, retroactive to the beginning of this school year, and the insurance increase ret- : reactive to Jan. 1, will be paid to employees in their June 15 paycheck, said Kelsey Bailey, the district's chief financial ')fficer. Individual teachers will see their salaries increase by 1 percent to as much\u0026lt;as 3.5 percent this year as a result of the raise coupled with an automatic step increase for experience that eligible teachers began receiving earlier this school year. . The district's most exp\u0026lt;\n. nenced teachers - those at  the top of the salary schedule - are ineligible for the experience step and will receive just the l percent increase. .The d'istrict's new starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor's degree and no experience will be $33,617.8-5 up from the current $33,285T. he district's top teacher salary is $64,841. A 1 percent increase will add $648.41 to that. The $16.92 increase in the district's contribution to the  monthly health insurance premiums for participating employees will indease the ~ontribution for participatmg employees from $301.44 a month to $31836. That is equal to the total cost for single cv ,'erage of an employee. The cost of the raise will be_ about $2.l million, Bailey said. The cost of the insurance benefit will be $350,000 for the second half of the 20ll- 12 school year, or $700,000 for ~e entire 2012 calendar year. Board member Dianne Curry thanl\u0026lt;ed the board and union teams for their work saying she knew it was a dif~ ficult decision., The two teams called in a fedei:al and state mediator to assi~t in reac~g a tentative agre~ment. ' . .' 'ffhes'e are to~gh times/' Cl\\F~ _ad9ed.\" Yer y'few ~om~ parues\nare giving any increases.  We're happy because we know our employees work hard - our teachers and support stilff,\" she said. Teachers in the 25,000-student district with 3,800 employees, have a three-year contract t~at calls for annual negotiat10ns on salaries and other financial benefits. District leaders and teachers waited until the rn!ddle of the school year to begm salary talks so district officials would have more accurate information on available revenue for pay raises. The contract expires this summer, so representatives of the employees and the district a_ree xp~cted td begin negotiations Wlthin weeks on terms for a successor contract. Board member Greg Adams made the motion Friday to approve .the compensation package after Holmes recommended it.  But Holmes also,told the board that work is under way on the 2012-13 district budget, and he expects to ask the board to hold a work session s~on on what he anticipates will be some complex issues . He sai? the budget plarming ~ takemto account the poss_ 1ble(o ss of state desegregatJon aid that now totals about $40 million a year, as well as so1\n!e school building needs. We don't plan to leave a stone unturned to educate you and your education of us_,\"H olmes _said.\"W e hope this.commuruty will look into the Jaws of this budget and into the guts. We want to show ev_erybody what we have. Lay this budget open. This is serious business for us. We are very concerned about some issues.\" Two school um onssue overax mg State can't end pactsf, ilingss ay CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSASDEMOCRAT-GAZE1TI Teacher and supportstaff unions in the Pulaski County Special School District on Friday legally chal- 1 enged state and district actions to end collective bargaining and terminate the employees' union-negotiated contracts. The Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers and the Pulaski Association of Support Staff filed similar but separate amended complaints in Pulaski County Cir_c4it Court against the Arkansas Department of Edui:ation, the school district a'nd members of two newly formed personnel policies committees in the district. i. The lawsuits accuse the Education Department of exceeding its authority in directing the district to withdraw union recognition and terminate the contracts.  Friday's lawsuits amend the March 5 lawsuits filed by the unions over the es- 0See UNIONSP,a ge 3A, More recognition and that the per-information sonnel policies committees Unions -\\.. dering withdrawal of union  Contihued from Page 1 A on the Web be declared invalid and the tablishment of the personnel L policies they propose not be policies committees. Latest motion filings implemented. The expanded lawsuit~ fol- arkansasonline.com/documents/ Pulaski County Special low in the wake of the Edu- __ ..,_________ School District Superinten-cation Depart~ent's April. district but ensure fair and eq: dent Jerry Guess said Friday 20 directive to the Pulaski uitable treatment of employees that he and the district's atCounty Special district to and give them \"a meaningful torneys had not seen the latend recognition of the two voi:ce\" in contract negotlations est -lawsuits, but said district employee unions and to ter- and grievance hearings.. leaders had tried to worlc with minate the contracts - called Blackstock argued that the two associations.  professional negotiations when state law authorizes the \"We have said frol:n the agreeierits ~ as part of an EducationDepartmenttomake beginning that our)ntenoverall plan by.the state and binding recommendations to tion was to find a common districf\\:o cut $11 million in. a superin,tendent regarding ground where we could.get the district's 2012-13 budget. staffing, it is not directing the the district ori-a solid fililin- 1]:i:ed istrict, 'c1assified by scrapping of the contract but cial course ari.d do iliat with the s~::i.tela st year as fis,cally deciding the number of work- the cooperation and particidistre'ssetl, is under statfcon-  ei.-sa district needs. . pation of PACT and PASS,\" trol,. operatipg with :a -'state:- ' The lawsu1ts fuithe'r con- Guess said. -' ,, ', ' appointed sup,erintendent tend that the Pulaski County . He said district employees and no locally elected school Special district bi\neached the .ciio~e to form. thl/per~oruiel board. '  '  employee contracts-:- which policies com'inittees'eailler The Friday s\n_\n_itsa ccuse expire at the.end o(the2014-15 this spring ',',b'ec.ausei t bethe siate,'agencyidf applying school y.ear.:....b: Y,w ithdraw- came obvious to them that rules'i-egardiii.g ,fisc\nald istress ing union recognition, termi- PACT and P}\\SSd id not seem in a way that will \"injure\" the riating the contracts and by to be interested in working to plaintiffs. '  . . failing to exercise all the steps a reasonable compromise.\" The suits,-filed by attorney in the contract to resolve dis- S_eth ~lomeley, a spokes- Clayton Bl~ckstock also 3.F-putes. Those steps include man for the state Education gue that the state exceeded its negotiations, mediation, fact- Department, on Friday relegal authority in dealing with finding and a hearing before ferred to April 20 documents a fiscally distressed district. a school board. issued by the agency stating \"The [Arkansas Depart- The. suits also say the dis- the reasons and_legal basis for ment of Education] does not trict violated state law by al- the state's decisions. have the statutory authority lowing the formation of the In an April 20 statement, to order the wholesale scrap- personnel policies commit- Arkansas Education Comping of the [professional ne- tees to advise district lead- missioner Tom Kimbrell said gotiations agreements] under ers about employee benefits his goal \"is to return control the guise of this statute and and working conditions at a of the PCSSD to whom it becorresponding Rules,\" Black- time when the unions were longs - the district's patrons stock wrote. recognized as the employee and a locally elected school He also said the contract bargaining agents. board. This will require \"coBtains a plethora of em- Blackstock _asked that steady financial belt tightenployee policies, many of which the professional negotia- ing wherever possible and ophave been in effect for over tions agreements remain in erational efficiency. The focus two decades,\" that do not af- full force and effect, that the. must be on providing the best feet the fiscal practices of the state be stopped from or- educational opportunities for Besidest he two cases in Pulaski County Circuit Court, the union recognitiona nd terminated contract issues also are , pending in federal court before U.S. . District Judge D. -Price Marshall Jr. the students of PCSSD.\" The plaint\niffs in the lawsuit regarding the teachers union isimes are the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers, Pamela Fitzgiven and Loveida Ingram. Judy Stockrahm also is listed as a plaintiff but has asked to withdraw. The defendants named in the teacher un.iori lawsuit are Robin Dorey, Callie Matthews, Kristina Laughy, Diane Wagner, Ella Sergeant, Nick Witherspoon, Paul Brewer, Veronica Perkins, Jackie Smith, the school district and the Education Department. Brewer, the district's executive director of human resources, and Principals Perkins and Smith are all admin. istrat~rs appointed to the p~rsonnel policies committee. The other individual de-  fendants are teachers elected by their colleagues earlier this year to serve on the personnel policies committee except for Sergeant, who was elected but chose not to serve. She has been replaced by Witherspoon. The teachers union lawsuit is assigned to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mary McGowan. Lonriie Coney, Belinda Pearl and the Pulaski Association of Support Staff are the plaintiffs in the suit challenging the end of recognition for the support staff. The defendants in that suit are Keith Cooper, Cheryl Howey, Regena English, Becky Del Rio, James Watson, John Sparks, Charles Blake, Derrick Brown, Bill Goff, the district and the Education Department. Goff is the district's chief financial officer, and Brown is the chief technology officer. The other individuals are support-staff employees elected to the personnel policies committee. The support-staff union lawsuit is assigned to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wen-dell Griffen. Besides the two cases in Pulaski County Circuit Court, the union recognition and terminated contract issues also _are pending in federal court before U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr,  The Pulaski County Special district last month asked the judge, who is presiding in the district's desegregation case, to declare the state ana distdct actions legal. On Friday, the attorney general's office filed a response opposing the Pulaski County Special district's request, saying that the matter falls outside the parameters of the desegregation case and outside the federal judge's authority.  TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2012  3B Shinnh onoreda s Educatoro f Year OtherL R schoolteachersr ecognizeda t annualC rystalA wardsb anquet ARKANSADSE MOCRAT-GAZETTE Bridget Sweetser Shinn, an English teacher at Horace Mann Magnet Middle School, received the 2012 Marian G. Lacey Educator of the Year Award at the Little Rock School District's annual Crystal Awards banquet Monday night at the Embassy Suites Hotel. Also honored at the banquet were:  Sarah Jane Relano of Williams Magnet Elementary, who was named the Little Rock School District ElementarSy chooTl eachero f the Year.  Natalie L. Holliman of Dunbar Magnet Middle School, who was named Middle School Teacher of the Year.  Keith Richardson of Central High,w how asn amedH ighS chool Teacheor f theY ear. Teachers from every school in the district were recognized during the banquet and received commemorative trophies. The honored teachers at the high school level were:  Central:F rankB aker,R ichardsona nd BettyeW illiams.  J.A.F airA: llisonB elcherC, ynthia Dokoutchaaenf d MaryJ acobs.  Hall: Chandle Carpenter, Connie Mccann and Sonja Williams.  McClellanL: esa Booker,L inda Peoplesa nd MargaretR eed.  Parkview: Brenda Bankston, Linda Neal and Debra Rogers. The honored teachers at the middle-school level were:  CloverdaleL: akeithaA ustina nd BrendaT homas.  Dunbar: Holliman and Kristi Ward.  ForestH eightsT: royG reena nd HarriettaL indsey.  Henderson:A ntoinetteJ arrett and MalindaM artin-Johnson.  Mabelvale: Karen Kelley and Tamara Rowe.  Horace Mann: Shinn and Wendy Welch.  Pulaski Heights: Janet Buford and Lee Thompson.  Accelerated Learning Center: Marty Burton.  Felder Academy: Mindy Williams.  HamiltonL earningC enter:P hyllis Tartt.  MetropolitanC areerT echnical Center: Barbara Swihart. The honored teachers at the elementary-school level were:  Bale:K athleenG regory.  BaselineJ: amieT homas.  BookerT: ammyH igdon.  Brady:T ammieR hea.  Carver: Jason Crader.  Chicot: Nadine James.  Dodd: Amanda Swift.  Fair Park: Lori Kriz.  ForestP ark:M ichelleG raves.  FranklinM: itziN icks.  FulbrightH: aleyA rmstrong.  Geyer Springs: Neresa Williams.  Gibbs:T racyB arbarotto.  JeffersonA: mberM atthews.  King: Candi Van Patter.  MabelvaleK: elliH edrick.  McDermottP: aigeP uckett.  Meadowcliff: Angela Rodriguez.  Otter Creek: Sharonda Hughes.  Pulaski Heights: Juliet Ste-phens.  Don Roberts: Holly Jenkins.  RockefellerK: elli Fuller.  RomineL: indseyW elch.  StephensP: akitaS hutes.  Terry: Dorothy Malone.  WakefieldA: lison Evans.  WashingtonM: eganH airston.  Watson: Mildred Butler.  Western Hills: Sharon Warren.  Williams:R elano.  Wilson: Christy Cecil.  WoodruffJ: essicaW eaver. ArkansaDs emocrat.-.( !,a.zette LETTERS Ours ystemi s top-he1~vy Cynthia Howell's recent story on the Pulaski County Special School Dis-trict's financial woes really caught my attention as a very good story representative of many schools' woes. What caught my attention most was that we have a school district with 17,000 students supported by 3,000 employees. Small teacher-to-student ratios are a wonderful teaching and learning tool. We all know the first thing that happens when a school gets into fman- . cial distress is that the classrooms get more students per teacher. Let's factor in a very liberal amount of \"nonteacher\" support to keep the school going, say 20 percent of the 3,000 employees are staff (secretar-ies, janitorial, physical maintenance, bus drivers, etc.), giving 600 staff, and leaving 2,400 \"teachers.\" I think this is a very high number, based on my education experience\n17,000 students to 2,400 teachers is a wonderful 7 to 1 ratio. We know this is not the case, so we must ask the question: \"How many administrators does it take to bankrupt a-school?\" Quoting Marty Nix, \"the teachers in this district cannot shoulder all of the cuts\" is quite an understatement. The problem with Pulaski County is a good sampling of what is wrong with the education system in Arkansas. We have too many administrators in the entire system, from the Arkansas Department of Education all the way down to each school with individual superintendents. And we wonder why the system is broke. STEVEGANN Russellville DODTDeac hing Where Are They Now? Cole Hadden: Reader, Writer, Inventor Louise Carpenter, Reading Recovety Teacher, Little Rock, Arkansas In the fall of 2007, Cole entered m)' kindergarten classroom at Carver Magnet Elementary in the Lierle Rock School District as a happy boy who loved to swordplay. He was most interested in science and hisrory, and it was clear to his classmates char Cole knew a lot. I remember how excited he was when asked to share ahom komodo dragons as we read books about reptiles, because he knew more about chem rhan I did. Nor only was Cole a bright kindergarten student, he was also very kind and considerate of all students in the classroom. He was every child's friend. Cole was the kind of kindergarten student char all teachers would wane in rheir classroom. Cole enjoyed reading more than writing. As you can imagine, he had rremendous oral language. Nor only could he talk about komodo dragons, bm many ocher animals and species 34 Journal cf Reoding Recovery Spring 2012 as well as historical faces. Reading and writing slowed him down, but he cried very hard. Cole became frustrated when composing and writing stories because he had so much to say bur couldn't ger it down on paper. He made adequate progress in kindergarten, bur he struggled. When Cole went co first grade, he transferred co another school and it just so happens rhar I did, roo. I received the opportunity to train for Reading Recovery chat year and ended up in the same school as Cole, although neither one of us knew the other was making a change. We both transferred to Gibbs Magnet School in the Lierle Rock School District. Cole was my very first Reading Recovery scudenc during my training year and with great success discontinued in 20 weeks. The following year, Cole's second-grade reacher recommended char he anend COLE'S K'NEX CATAPULT I oui.cr wm n kindagnrtm t,acher whm .r/,cfirst met \u0026lt;.nle in her d.1wroom. my literacy group for extra support in writing, and Cole continued ro make progress. Cole is in the fourth grade now and just completed writing a biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt. His reacher, Staci Hula, said char Cole is a wonderful scudenc. Cole's science project, citied \"Cole's K'Nex Catapult,\" won first place in the Fourth-Grade Science Fair, and he was awarded a Kindle. This was a huge honor! Cole is reading War Hom and Red Tads on his Kindle. Oh, and he still enjoys swordplay! f.011ire comin11etso track Cvle's progrm 1111IdI proud of hi, achievenwm, i11rludi11hgi. \u0026lt;ru m1 fir\nt place win in r/,e G,bh, 11-frigneSrc /,nnl Fourth-Grade Scitn.-e! :1ir. Sandy Luehrs From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Importance: Donna, Joy Springer [jspringer@gabrielmail.com] Friday, May 11, 2012 3:51 PM donnacreer@magnetschool.com 'Sandy Luehrs' RE: MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING - AGENDA High I apologize for the delay in my responding to Dr. Drefus' report, but I have been swamped with other matters. I am trying to locate in her report where the Research Questions are specifically answered. Can you tell me? It seems to me if the enrollment of magnets is declining and they are becoming more black and/or African American, we need to respond to that question Why? As I understand the purpose of the magnets was to have racial balance and help to eliminate one race schools. I hope that the principals will be able to tell me that the achievement gap is narrowing and not just be able to say: \"we met AYP\" or \"we almost met AYP.\" The data appears to me to show that the gap in achievement remains. I also have the following questions: 1) how does the magnet theme strengthen student learning to address AA student achievement? 2) can you direct my attention to the portion of the report that deals with what children are learning and its effect on their achievement? 3) are principals doing informal or formal evaluations of their programs to determine what programs work to address specific needs of students? I read the report that this is lacking?? Am I correct? Thank you. From: Sandy Luehrs [mailto:maqnet@maqnetschool.com] Sent: Friday, May 11, 2012 1:36 PM To: 'Mitchell, Sadie'\n'Bobby Acklin'\n'CLOWERS ROBERT L.'\noliver.dillinqham@arkansas.gov\n'Danny Reed (ADE)'\njsprinqer@qabrielmail.com Cc: 'Margie Powell'\n'BOWLES BRENDA'\nmarvin.burton@lrsd.org\ndaniel.Whitehorn@lrsd.org\n'(arson, Cheryl'\n'Barksdale, Mary'\n'Hobbs, Felicia'\n'Register, Sandra'\nPatricia.Boykin@lrsd.org\n'Booth, Dexter'\n'Donna Creer' Subject: MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING - AGENDA Importance: High Oops!!! I forgot to attach the agenda forthe meeting. Here it is. Sandy No virus found in this message. Checked by A VG - W\\,\\ w.an!.com Version: 2012.0.2169 / Virus Database: 2425/4991 - Release Date: 05/11/12 Sandy Luehrs From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Sandy Luehrs [magnet@magnetschool.com] Thursday, April 19, 201211:42 AM 'cheryl.carson@lrsd.org'\n'Barksdale, Mary'\n'Felicia.Hobbs@lrsd.org'\n'Sandra.Register@lrsd.org'\n'Patricia.Boykin@lrsd.org'\n'Booth, Dexter' 'Mitchell, Sadie'\n'Donna Creer' Attachments: STIPULATION MAGNET SCHOOLS ANNUAL REPORT TO THE MRC - May 15, 2012 STIPULATION MAGNET PRINCIPALS REPORT- 2012 - MEMO.doc\nSTIPULATION MAGNET SCHOOLS - ANNUAL REPORT FORM.doc\nStipulation Magnet Principals PowerPoint - 2012.ppt Importance: High Good morning, Please see the following memorandum and attachments from Donna Creer regarding the annual report to the MRC. We have your reporting scheduled for Tuesday, May 15, 2012, with time slots as follows: 8:00 a.m. -8:30 a.m. 8:35 a.m. - 9:05 a.m. 9:10 a.m. - 9:40 a.m. 9:45 a.m. -10:15 a.m. 10:30 a.m. -11:00 a.m. 11:05 a.m. -11:35 a.m. 11:40 a.m. -12:10 p.m. 12:15 p.m. -1:00 p.m. attending. MRC Monthly Meeting (Anyone wishing to attend is more than welcome) Presenter #1 Presenter #2 Presenter #3 Presenter #4 Presenter #5 Presenter #6 LUNCH will be served -You are invited, so please let us know if you will be Please confirm that you have received this information, and provide your requested time slot for presenting ASAP. Remember, it is on a first-come/first-served basis. We will be looking forward to seeing all of you then. Sandy TO: FROM: THRU: SUBJ: DATE: Dr. Cheryl Carson, Principal - Booker Magnet Diane Barksdale, Principal - Carver Magnet Dr. Felicia Hobbs, Principal - Gibbs Magnet Sandra Register, Principal - Williams Magnet Patricia Boykin, Principal - Mann Magnet Dr. Dexter Booth, Principal - Parkview Magnet Donna Grady Creer, Executive Director Magnet Review Committee Dr. Sadie Mitchell, MRC Chairperson Associate Superintendent, LRSD Stipulation Magnet Schools Report to the MRC April 18, 2012 Thank you for clearing your calendar and preparing to attend the May 15th MRC meeting. As is customary, this is the meeting during which Stipulation magnet school principals report to the MRC. We look forward to your 20-minute (or less) report, with ten minutes allocated for Questions and Answers. Adhering to this timeline will allow all magnet schools to report during one meeting. For your information, we have attached a REPORT FORM delineating questions to be addressed. In the interest of clarity and brevity, the MRC members have requested that some report items be presented via PowerPoint and some be included as a part of your written report (see attached template for your PowerPoint format). Thanks again for compiling the information that gives us a glimpse of the current \"STATE OF THE MAGNETS.\" The data in your report is used by our office, MRC members, and their parties, as a quick reference for magnet school information. We appreciate you and your hard work. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. DGC:sl Enclosures: 1) Stipulation Magnet Schools Annual Report Form 2) Template for PowerPoint SCHOOL: STIPULATION MAGNET SCHOOLS ANNUAL REPORT FORM 2012 PRINCIPAL'S NAME: e-mail: OTHER ADMINISTRATORS (Asterisk if new): NAME: e-mail: NAME: e-mail: SCHOOL SECRETARY: direct phone: phone: phone: phone: ........................................................................ , CURRENT ENROLLMENT: RACIAL COMPOSITION: LAST YEAR'S ENROLLMENT: __ % B % NB 1. PLEASE BE SPECIFIC AND LIST ANY REQUESTS FOR BUDGET INCREASES. Justify additional staff, reinstatement of staff, programmatic thrusts, etc. 2. SHARE WITH US WHAT YOU HA VE FOCUSED ON IN YOUR ACSIP. A. Please recap how the five-year and two-year improvement plans your school received from the MRC were used to improve your school. Include past, current or planned improvements. 3. PROVIDE STRUCTURAL CHANGES/IMPROVEMENTS (planned, inprogress or completed). 4. REPORT ON CURRICULUM/COURSE OFFERINGS (planned, proposed, or added). 5. DID YOUR SCHOOL MEET AYP? If not, please discuss subpopulations and interventions put in place to address student deficiencies. 6. LIST OUTSTANDING OR NEW RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES. 7. SHARE A RECAP OF HONORS AND/OR A WARDS WON (staff, school, student). 8. RECAP PARTICIPATION ATNATIO AL, REGIONAL, OR LOCAL CONFERENCES OR INSERVICES. 9. PROVIDE INFORMATION AS TO NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO HA VE WITHDRAWN OR EXITED YOUR SCHOOL'S PROGRAM AND THE REASONS FOR DOING SO. 10. SUPPLY ANY OTHER INFORMATION YOU WISH TO INCLUDE.\nStipulation Magnet Principals ANNUAL REPORT to the MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE 2011-2012 (LIST YOUR NAME HERE) (name of school) School website: Face book/twitter: Principal's Name: E-Mail: Direct Phone Line: Asst. Principal's Name: E-Mail: Direct Phone Line: (Area of responsibility, if applicable): School Secretary: Direct Phone: Counselor: Direct Phone: PTA President: E-Mail: Phone: SCHOOL COMPOSITION Race/ Native African Hispanic/ Multi-ethnicity American Asian American Latino White Ethnic Number and \\.,omplete (complete (completP tsomplete (complete (complete Gender your your your our your your of numbers numbers numbers numbers numbers numbers children here) here) here) here) here) here) .,omplet .,omplete (complete (complete (complet .,omplete /OUr your your your 10Ur your Number numbers numbers numbers numbers umbers numbers of staff here) here) here) here) here) here) SCHOOL COMPOSITION cont. Grade Configuration: (List total number of students per grade level, by Glv ,eth V y d gender) REQUESTS FOR BUDGET INCREASES Faculty/Staff: Curriculum Related Materials: Equipment/Facility: Other (please list): (NOTE: List \"none\" in each category where you are not requesting an increase.) RECAP ONLY ON POWER INT Detailed information should be provided in written report. CURRENT ACSIP FOCUS (Please provide a copy of your current ACSIP report to each MRC member in your written report.) RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT SCHOOL STRUCTURAL CHANGES/IMPROVEMENTS (If any occurred during 2011-12 or are proposed for 2012-13. Do not include any prior to 2011-12.) RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report. CURRICULUM/COURSE OFFERINGS Changes in 2011-12 or Proposed Changes for 2012-13: (NOTE: ONLY changes this year or needed changes next year, not the entire curriculum offered.) RECAP ONLY ON WERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS (AYP) Achieved/Not Achieved: Overall: Math/Literacy Areas Individually: Subpopulation info: Provide data for the past three years showing achievement gap in math and literacy, in particular, on African-American student achievement. (Provide by grade, race and gender.) LRSD's STRATEGIC PLANNING GOALS Achieved/Not Achieved: (Show evidence for Benchmark performance by grade, race and gender) INTERVENTION OR SUPPORT SERVICES Provided by your school (to students or teachers) to enhance academics, test taking skills or to raise test scores. RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report. RECRUITMENT Outstanding/New Recruitment Activities. RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report. SCHOOL HONORS/AWARDS School/Staff /Student Recognitions. Participation at National/Regional/Local Conferences. RECAP ONLY ON POWERPOINT Detailed information should be provided in written report. WITHDRAWALS Provide number of students who have withdrawn or exited your school's program and the reasons for doing so ( y grade, race and gender). DISCIPLINE REPORT Provide report which includes suspensions, expulsions and in-school discipline efforts (by grade, race and gender). MISCELLANEOUS Information you may wish to include but not covered in previous slides) Detailed information should be provided in written report.\nThis project was supported in part by a Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives project grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Council on Library and Information Resoources.\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\u003cdcterms_creator\u003eArkansas. Department of Education\u003c/dcterms_creator\u003e\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n "},{"id":"bcas_bcmss0837_161","title":"Magnet Review Committee (MRC) meeting, agenda, minutes, handouts, and reports","collection_id":"bcas_bcmss0837","collection_title":"Office of Desegregation Management","dcterms_contributor":null,"dcterms_spatial":["United States, 39.76, -98.5","United States, Arkansas, 34.75037, -92.50044","United States, Arkansas, Pulaski County, 34.76993, -92.3118"],"dcterms_creator":["Arkansas. Department of Education"],"dc_date":["2012-04-17"],"dcterms_description":null,"dc_format":["application/pdf"],"dcterms_identifier":null,"dcterms_language":["eng"],"dcterms_publisher":["Little Rock, Ark. : Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. Central Arkansas Library System"],"dc_relation":null,"dc_right":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"dcterms_is_part_of":["Office of Desegregation Monitoring records (BC.MSS.08.37)","History of Segregation and Integration of Arkansas's Educational System"],"dcterms_subject":["Education--Arkansas","Arkansas. Department of Education","Educational statistics","Education and state","Magnet schools"],"dcterms_title":["Magnet Review Committee (MRC) meeting, agenda, minutes, handouts, and reports"],"dcterms_type":["Text"],"dcterms_provenance":["Butler Center for Arkansas Studies"],"edm_is_shown_by":null,"edm_is_shown_at":["http://arstudies.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/bcmss0837/id/161"],"dcterms_temporal":null,"dcterms_rights_holder":null,"dcterms_bibliographic_citation":null,"dlg_local_right":["Available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any other use requires permission from the Butler Center."],"dcterms_medium":["documents (object genre)"],"dcterms_extent":["47 pages"],"dlg_subject_personal":null,"dcterms_subject_fast":null,"fulltext":"\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\nMAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE AGENDA April 17, 2012 I. Call to Order II. Reading of the Minutes of December 13, 2011 III. Executive Director's Report IV. A. Correspondence B. Financial Transactions C. Newspaper Articles D. Recruitment Update E. LRSD Original Magnet Schools Personnel - Vacancies and New Hires A. Stipulation Magnet Schools Evaluation Report - Review of Final Draft B. Discussion and Review of Format for Stipulation Magnet Schools Annual Principal Reports C. Set Next Meeting Date IV. Adjournment ' MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE MINUTES December 13, 2011 The regularly scheduled meeting of the Magnet Review Committee was held in the Magnet Review Committee Office, 1920 North Main Street, Suite 101, North Little Rock, Arkansas on Tuesday December 13, 2011. Members Present: Guest: Dr. Sadie Mitchell, Chairperson - LRSD Bobby Acklin, NLRSD Dr. Robert Clowers, PCSSD Oliver Dillingham, ADE Danny Reed, ADE Joy Springer, Joshua Intervenors Margie Powell, Monitor - ODM The meeting was called to order at 8:35 a.m. by Chairperson Dr. Sadie Mitchell. She immediately called for a reading of the minutes of October 25, 2011. Joy Springer made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, after a correction of a date was made, and Danny Reed seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously, and the minutes were approved as presented. Donna Grady Creer provided the Executive Director's report. She called the Committee's attention to items in correspondence, with the first item being an e-mail to a parent requesting information about the application process for a magnet school. Copies of the e-mail were given to MRC members for their information, but no action was required by the MRC. An e-mail was sent to Diane Barksdale, Principal of Carver Magnet, acknowledging Carver's participation in the LEGO Education Showcase Grant to be held at Barnes and oble in North Little Rock on ovember 12, 2011. Copies were given to MRC members for their information. A copy of the Court Order from Judge D. P. Marshall, Jr., which transmitted the Stipulation Magnet Schools Budget to all parties in the case to request their response if they have any objections to the budget, was given to MRC members. No action was required of the MRC. Ms. Creer sent an e-mail to Diane Barksdale, Principal of Carver Magnet, to tell her how wonderful the LEGO event was at Barnes and Noble in November. Copies of the e-mail were given to MRC members for their perusal. A memorandum was sent to all Magnet Marketing University members (Magnet Marketing Team) to remind them of the upcoming Magnet Fair at Park Plaza on January 21, 2012. Copies of the memorandum were given to MRC members for their information. An e-mail was sent to Dr. Jeanne Dreyfus, Consultant for the Interdistrict Magnet Schools Evaluation Report, in response to her request for a list of MRC members. Copies were given to MRC members, but no action was required by the MRC. A series of e-mails between Donna Creer and Suellen Vann, Communications Director for the Arkansas School Boards Association, regarding Ms. Creer's attendance at the ASBA Conference during a session entitled \"Using Data to Drive Student Success.\" Copies were given to MRC members for their information. Bills in the amount of $3,372.04 were presented for payment. Ms. Creer provided a recap of the expenses, and Oliver Dillingham made a motion to pay the bills. Danny Reed seconded the motion, and the motion carried unanimously. Newspaper articles since the previous MRC meeting were given to MRC members. Ms. Creer provided a recap of the articles. With regard to a recruitment update, Ms. Creer informed the MRC members that several activities are already in progress. She reported that Carver Magnet's LEGO program at Barnes and Noble was a tremendous success and had a great turnout. Magnet Fair will be held on January 21, 2012, at Park Plaza Mall. A component is being added for positive points. Some former magnet school students will speak about their time in a magnet school, and plans are to put their comments on video so it can be on the schools' websites. Plans are also being made to make an ongoing commercial that will appear on the district's website. The MRC Office is working with Little Rock School District to make sure that the LRSD newsletter will be covering magnet schools. Ms. Creer had sent an e-mail to the Stipulation magnet schools requesting updated, accurate information about the Math Science options available to students. Responses by some of the schools were provided to MRC members for their information. -2- An e-mail was received from the LRSD Student Registration Office providing information about available seats for the second semester. Joy Springer asked if PCS SD and NLRSD filled all their seats. Ms. Creer said that is the reason they are having a meeting for semester updates right now. Margie Powell, ODM Monitor, noted that her office has a new enrollment report for NLRSD. A new brochure from Parkview Magnet was received in the MRC Office via e-mail. Copies were provided to MRC members for their information. Ms. Creer reported that there are no changes in the Stipulation Magnet Schools personnel at this rime. Dr. Mitchell did inform the MRC members, though, that Dr. Felicia Hobbs, Principal at Gibbs Magnet, may be filling a few positions. Ms. Creer asked if any MRC members had a chance to read at any of the schools during Reading Day. She went to Williams Magnet and is going to try to put some information on Facebook, etc. A draft of the Stipulation Magnet Schools Evaluation Report was given to MRC members for their review. A conference call was then placed to Dr. Jeanne Dreyfus to discuss the report with her. Questions included:  Research  Magnet Schools Effect on Disparity  Ten-Year Review  Student Retention/Exit  Parents' Perception  Number of Free and Reduced Lunch. Several questions were brought forth to Dr. Dreyfus. The first one was if the district's policy was followed as the evaluation was being done. Ms. Springer also asked what the questions are that are being answered in this report. Dr. Dreyfus said that she looked for information if these schools are maintaining their role with regard to diversity in the schools. Are the schools able to meet state standards on core subjects? How are the schools maintaining their core goals of a magnet school? What are their strategies for doing that and do they have strategies for accomplishing this? How are they handling the challenges and how are they addressing them? Ms. Springer noted that she understood this and, as a member of the Joshua Intervnors, she wants to know the impact on African-American achievement. Ms. Springer then asked about the research questions. She asked Dr. Dreyfus if the questions to parents, students and teachers address the questions she asked? Dr. Dreyfus said that she used the climate survey PRE used for the district. -3- I !~ I I More questions were presented to Dr. Dreyfus with regard to disparity. Dr. Dreyfus said that she could go back over the last five years to find out that the data is accurate. Dr. Mitchell said that she would like for that to be done. Dr. Dreyfus said that she will use the same subgroups that LRSD uses with their accountability plan. It was agreed by consensus that the MRC's primary subgroup is Black and White. Oliver Dillingham also noted that numbers are important. Ms. Springer also asked about Pages 6-9 where Dr. Dreyfus talks about perception. Was there any reason why this information is lumped into one area and not broken down by schools? Dr. Dreyfus noted that it was determined by how many students answered the questions. She requested two years back to see if the year was represented. Dr. Mitchell said that next year, the sampling will be much better. LRSD is doing something different to make sure that they get better responses. Mr. Dillingham called attention to Page 7. He asked if the percentage was for magnet schools? Dr. Clowers said another column is needed. People looking at the report can then see that it would add up to 100%. Dr. Mitchell thanked Dr. Dreyfus for her participation in the conference call, and said that the MRC will be looking forward to the completed report. A discussion was held with regard to a raise in salary for the Donna Creer and Sandra Luehrs. Bobby Acklin made a motion that the MRC determine an average of the three school districts and approve a raise in salary. Joy Springer seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. When no further business was brought before the Committee, Joy Springer made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dr. Robert Clowers seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned at 10: 15 a.m. -4- ! 17011)\n!- . . Magnet Review Committee 1920 North Main Street, Suite 101  North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114 (501) 758-0156 {Phone}  (501) 758-5366 {Fax}  magnet@magnetschool.com {E-mail} TO: Dr. Jerry Guess, Superintendent - PCSSD Dr. Morris Holmes, Superintendent - LRSD FROM: Dr. Tom Kimbrell, Education Commissioner -ADE Mr. Ken Kirspel,~erintendent - NLRSD Donna Grady Cr ecutive Director SUBJ: DATE: Magnet Review C mmittee MAGNET SCHOOL FAIR 2012-January 21, 2012 January 11, 2012 Thank you for your support of the Interdistrict Magnet School Program. Your involvement in the program helps ensure its continued success. The 17th Annual Magnet School Fair will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2012, at Park Plaza Mall, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. This memorandum comes to cordially invite you to attend. We welcome you to visit any, or all, of the magnet school booths staffed by school administrators, staff, parents, students and volunteers. They are prepared to answer questions about their school's program. Throughout the day, magnet school student performance groups will showcase at the stage area in front of the Men's Department entrance to Dillard's. We invite you to attend and to speak to the Magnet Fair attendees if you so desire. If you would like to briefly (3-5 minutes) address the Magnet Fair attendees, please have someone in your office contact Sandy at 758-0156. Once again, thank you. We look forward to seeing you at the 17th Annual Magnet School Fair on Saturday, January 21, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. DGC:sl cc: Dr. Sadie Mitchell - LRSD MRC Rep Bobby Acklin - NLRSD MRC Rep Dr. Robert Clowers - PCSSD MRC Rep Oliver Dillingham - ADE MRC Rep Danny Reed - ADE MRC Rep \"Pursue the Possibilities of Magnet School Enrollment\" Magnet Review Committee 1920 North Main Street, Suite 101  North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114 (501) 758-0156 {Phone}  (501) 758-5366 {Fax}  magnet@magnetschool.com {E-mail} TO: FROM: SUBJECT: DATE: Tonya Click- LRSD Student Registration Office Deana Eggleston - LRSD Student Registration Office Maria Garcia - LRSD Student Registration Office Alisha Long - LRSD Student Registration Office Michelle Oliver - PCSSD Equity and Pupil Services Office Dr. Debbie Price - LRSD Student Registration Office Yolanda Richards - PCSSD Equity and Pupil Services Office Tameka White - NLRSD Desegregation Office Donna Grady Cre~tive Director Magnet Review Committee Magnet Fair Volunteers January 11, 2012 It's that time of the year again! The Magnet Fair is just around the corner and, of course, the Magnet Review Committee needs help!! The 1 ih Annual Magnet School Fair is scheduled for SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., in Park Plaza Mall. Any volunteer time you could provide for that day to help us man the \"Magnet School Information Booth\" would REALLY be appreciated. Please let Sandy know when you might be able to share a few hours of that Saturday. We really rely on your expertise. Thank you for your help. We appreciate each and every one of you. DGC:sl cc: Bobby Acklin, NLRSD Desegregation Office Dr. Brenda Bowles, PCSSD Equity and Pupil Services Office Dr. Frederick Fields, LRSDE Student Registration Office \"Pursue the Possibilities of Magnet School Enrollment\" Magnet Review Committee 1920 North Main Street, Suite 101  North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114 (501) 758-0156 {Phone} (501) 758-5366 {Fax} magnet@magnetschool.com {E-mail} TO: FROM: SUBJ: DATE: Tonya Click- LRSD Deana Eggleston - LRSD Maria Garcia - LRSD Michelle Oliver - PCSSD Dr. Debbie Price - LRSD Yolanda Richards - PCS SD Tameka White - N~~ Donna Grady Cret/f,Necutive Director Magnet Review Committee A Magnet Fair Thank You January 25, 2012 THANK YOU VERY MUCH for spending a portion of ( or most of) your Saturday helping parents and students learn more about magnet school enrollment! Everything you did to help make our Annual Magnet School Fair a success is greatly appreciated. We know it is hard to give us precious Saturday time. Thanks for doing such a great job of talking to potential magnet school parents seeking school enrollment information. We commend you for your service and willingness to participate. Thanks, too, for making sure that the parents who visit, call and e-mail your office know of their opportunity to enroll their children in a magnet school. It is good to have coworkers who share your passion to fill all magnet school seats. Please know that we appreciate you. DGC:sl cc: Bobby Acklin, NLRSD Dr. Brenda Bowles, PCSSD Dr. Frederick Fields, LRSD \"Pursue the Possibilities of Magnet School Enrollment\" Magnet Review Committee 1920 North Main Street, Suite 1 01  North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114 (501) 758-0156 {Phone} (501) 758-5366 {Fax} magnet@magnetschool.com {E-mail} January 27, 2012 Ms. Melissa Griffith Assistant General Manager Specialty Retail 6000 W. Markham Street Little Rock, AR 72205 Dear Melissa, Thanks to you and your staff for assisting us in the planning, production and presentation of this year's annual Magnet School Fair. I appreciate the time spent helping us to make things happen. You guys went \"above and beyond the call of duty,\" making sure that we had everything for a successful Fair. Having thoughtful, community-minded staff and management at Park Plaza helped us achieve success. The Park Plaza management and staff has a commitment to service, a passion for people and productivity, and we appreciate you! We particularly enjoyed seeing your daughter participate in Booker's performance. She is a very talented child, and you should be very proud. Please feel free to call our office or any of our schools if you need us. Again, thanks! s 1 ~ onna G ady Creer, Executive Director Magnet Review Committee DGC:sl \"Pursue the Possibilities of Magnet School Enrollment\" Magnet Review Committee 1920 North Main Street, Suite 101  North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114 (501) 758-0156 {Phone} (501) 758-5366 {Fax} magnet@magnetschool.com {E-mail} TO: FROM: SUBJ: DATE: Magnet Marketing University Class (aka Magnet Fair Steering Committee Memb~ Donna Grady Cre~~ecutive Director - Magnet Review Committee A MAGNET FAIR THANK YOU! January 27, 2012 Thanks for playing your part to help make the Annual Magnet School Fair a success. We appreciate the work, service and passion of our dedicated Magnet Fair team! We got great media coverage which assures the calls, visits, and applications \"keep on coming!\" Thanks for ALL that you do. The magnet school booths, performance groups, and \"give-aways\" were all top notch. The attitude and information the booth staff/volunteers provided was AWESOME! Some ofus who have done this before might think it's old hat, but every chance we have to share magnet school information with a new/potential magnet parent is an opportunity to let magnets stand out. You make it happen at your magnet campus, at the Magnet Fair, and everywhere you are! Thanks to your work, we are ready to offer excellent magnet school education to the hundreds of students who will complete applications during the early registration period, and the many others who will apply before August, 2012. Once again, thank you for everything. We appreciate you and, if you need anything from our office, please do not hesitate to contact us. DGC:sl cc: Magnet Principal \"Pursue the Possibilities of Magnet School Enrollment\" 1. Capital Business Machines MAGNET REVIEW COMMITTEE BILLS TO BE PAID April 17, 2012 {Monthly Billing for MRC's Maintenance Agreement for the MRC Copier) 2. Wardell Laster, Jr. {Services Rendered to Print Application and Enrollment Forms) 3. Staples Advantage (Supplies for the MRC Office) 4. Sam's Club {Membership Renewal for the MRC Office) 5. American Home Life {MRC's Communications Expense for December, 2011) 6. Magnet Schools of America (MRC's Membership Renewal for 2011-12) 7. Kid's Directory (Advertising in January, 2012) 8. J. L. Designs {Services Rendered to Design Flyer for Magnet School Recruitment) 9. Clarence Thornton (Services Rendered to Provide Sound and Equipment for Magnet Fair) 10. Central Arkansas Newspapers (Advertising in the North Little Rock Times) 11. Capital Business Machines {Monthly Billing for MRC's Office Copier Maintenance Contract) 12. Park Plaza Mall (Facilities Charge for Magnet Fair at Park Plaza Mall) 63.72 1,725.00 174.54 70.00 182.50 225.00 515.00 35.00 1,100.00 46.50 70.20 500.00 13. Wardell Laster, Jr. (Services Rendered to Print Labels and Brochures for Magnet School Recruitment) 14. TB Productions (Services Rendered to Complete Video Recording at Magnet Fair) 15. Fastsigns (Services Rendered to Create Banner for Early Enrollment) 16. Compsys (Services Rendered to Remotely Repair MRC Office Computer) 17. El Latino (Advertising in the 1/19/12 Issue) 18. Sunbelt Convention Services (Services Rendered to Provide Set-Up for Magnet Fair 2012) 19. Allegra Print \u0026amp; Imaging (Supplies for the MRC Office) 20. American Home Life (MRC's Communications Expense for January, 2012) 21. Leader Publishing, Inc. (Advertising in January, 2012 for Magnet Fair and Enrollment) 22. Kid's Directory (Advertising in the February, 2012 Issue) 23. El Latino (Advertising in the 1/26/12 Issue) 24. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Advertising for Magnet Fair and Early Enrollment) 25. Mass Enthusiasm (Down payment for Services to Create New Website for MRC) 26. Capital Business Machines (Monthly Billing for M RC's Copier Maintenance Contract) 27. Central Arkansas Newspapers (Advertising in the North Little Rock Times for Enrollment and Magnet Fair) 230.00 350.00 79.21 48.28 350.00 1,619.51 219.70 182.50 340.80 275.00 350.00 1,110.62 866.66 70.20 501.00 28. Compsys 144.85 (Services Rendered to Correct Web Hosting Problem) 29. ARKNSPRA 25.00 (Membership for Donna Creer for 2011-12) 30. Staples Advantage 105.87 (Supplies for the MRC Office) 31. Leader Publishing, Inc. 113.60 (Advertising During Enrollment Period) 32. American Home Life 182.50 (MRC's Communications Expense for February, 2012) 33. Central Arkansas Newspapers 309.00 (Advertising in the North Little Rock Times and Jacksonville Patriot) 34. Capital Business Machines 70.20 {Monthly Billing for MRC's Copier Maintenance Agreement) 35. American Home Life 182.50 {MRC's Communications Expense for March, 2012) 36. AireArk, Inc. 65.90 (Services Renders for Two Months to Host MRC's Website and E-Mail) TOTAL BILLS TO BE PAID $ 12,500.36 Keep funding desegregation, state ordered To h~t school aid, hearing riecessaryU,. S.j udgess ay CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSADS EMOC~T-GAZETIE The state must continue to pay millions of dollars in desegregation aid to the three Pulaski County school systems - which use the funds for magnet schools, employee benefits and other operating expenses - as a result of a federal appeals court decision Wednesday. '1f the State wishes to obtain relief from its funding obligations, there must be a formal evidentiary hearing on the issue,\" a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St Louis said 'We express no opinion on what the outcome of such a hearing should be,\" the court added in the 29-page order. The panel also concluded that the North Little Rock School District is entitled to unitary status and release from decades of federal court mohitoring of its operations. The Pulaski County Special School District, on the other hand, will remain under court supervision. As a result, the Pulaski County Special district will be the only one of the three Pulaski County districts to remain under court supervision, although all three districts remain parties in the 29-year-old school desegregation lawsuit The Llttle Rock district was declared unitary by a federal district court in 2007, a decision affirmed by the 8th Circuit in 2009. Wednesday's ruling, written by U.S. Circuit Judge Raymond Gruender of St. Louis, assures, at least for now, that Little Rock's magnet schools and a student-transfer program among the three school districts continues without the threat of lost funding. The decision of the threejudge panel - which included Michael Melloy of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Roger Wollman of Sioux Falls, S.D. - follows on the heels-of a Sept 19 hear- See SCHOOLPSa,g e3 A Schools  Continued from Page 1 A ing on various challenges to U.S. District Judge Brian Miller's May 19 order. The May order called for immediately terminating all of the state desegregation aid except for funds for the majority-tominority interdistrict student transfer program. Miller had directed the districts to show why the funding for the student-transfer program, shouldn't be end~d as well. He stepped down from the desegregation case last summer, and U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. is now the presiding judge in the case. The three Pulaski County districts receive as much as $70 million a year, with about $38 million going to the Little Rock district, the state's largest with about 25,000 students. The state pays the money as the result of a 1989 financial agreement with the state, the districts and other parties in the case. The order to immediately end the state funding had been put on hold, or \"stayed,\" by the 8th Circuit at the request of the districts until the appeals court could hold the September hearing and issue a decision. FILINGM OTIONIM PROPER The 8th Circuit concluded Wednesday that the state \"'7' represented by the Arkansas attorney general's office in support of Miller's ruling - did not make a proper motion to the court to end the state aid. The appeals court said Miller did not hold a court hearing on the issue or prepare the typical findings of fact and conclusions of law used to support a ruling. \"The state has long made known its view that such funding will become unnecessary after all three districts are declared fully unitary,\" the order said.  \"However, the state has not yet moved f9r relief from its funding obligations, and the scheduling order for the 2010 hearings on NLRSD's and PCSSD's petitions for declaration of unitary status did not provide for the presentation of any evidence regarding such relief.\" Additionally, the 8th Circuit panel noted that the state participated in the 2010 court hearings on unitary status but objected when questions were raised about its role, saying that its responsibilities in the case were not the subject of the hearings. Miller, however, released t~e s~ate from _the funding obligations, saymg that it was necessary to avoid \"an absurd outcome\" in which the districts would continue to 'receive state funding as long as they fail to meet the desegregation requirements. In his May ord1,r, Miller called the districts \"wise mules that have learned how to eat the carrot and sit down on the job.\" The 8th Circuit opinion said the judge's frustration was understandable and his \"conclusions regarding the perverse incentives created by the State's funding may well have some merit. Nevertheless, notice and a formal hearing are req,uired before the court terminates a constitutional violator's desegregation obligations.\" The 8th Circuit acknowledged that the issue of curtailing state funding was raised in documents submitted to the District Court and during a short status conference of the parties and the district judge in September 2009, but that was not sufficient \"We have rejected the notion that such other avenues may substitute for a formal evidentiary hearing,\" Grue.nder wrote.  \"[T]he briefings and status hearing referred to by the State in this case cannot be cobbled together to form an 'adequate record,' particularly in the absence of detailed findings by the district court.\" Representatives of the Llttle Rock and North Llttle Rock dis- tricts were pleased with the 8th Circuit order. Steve Jones, an attorney for the North Little Rock ciistrict said the parties are back to where they started on the matter of state funding. \"Nobody has yet made an actual motion,\" Jones said. \"We all understand it's the 800-pound gorilla on the horizon. Everyo~e knows it's coming but at this point there is nothing before the court on which the court can act to terminate funding.\" Chris Heller, an attorney for the Little Rock district, called the ordei\"important\" and good for magnet schools. Like Jones, Heller noted that because the funding order was ''vacated\" by the appeals court rather_ th~ \"remanded\" back to the DJStnct Court, there is no existing funding issue on which a court can act to end the funding. Heller also said that the 8th Circuit decision provides guidance on any future effort to end the state funding. The order specifically labels the state as a \"constitutional violator,\" he said. The order then directs that in order for a constitutional violator to be released from it's obligations it must show both good faith compliance with its desegregation obligations and eliminate the vestiges of segregation caused by its unconstitutional conduct.  State leaders said they looked forward to continuing efforts to end the long-running case. PAYMENTNSO TP ERPETUAL Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said in a prepared statement that the state \"continues to move positively toward ending this litigation and taking the courts out of the classrooms of Pulaski County.\" , He said the taxpayer-funded desegregation payments are not perpetual. ''Today, I renew a call to the parties in this case to come together for a meaningful discussion about what is best for the children of these school districts and the taxpayers of this state,\" he said. Asked whether he will file a motion for a hearing on stopping state payments, a spokesman for McDaniel said, \"We have not made that decision at this time. As the attorney general said, he sees this as another opportun.j.ty to btjng all parties together.''\nMatt DeCample, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe, said the governor appreciated the 8th Circuit's quick decision, which will aid state officials in addressing issues at the school district level The state Department of Education took over the Pulaski County Special district last June, replacing the superintendent and dissolving the School Board because of financial mismanagement. \"We'll. continue to work with the attorney general's office as that office crafts what comes next,\" DeCample said. \"We recognize that there are more steps to go through but I think our argument is going to remain the same.'' Damon Hewitt, a New Yorkbased attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. which helps represent black students in the case, said: ''Today's opinion should send a clear message to school districts throughout the country that compliance with desegregation orders is not optional. Both the courts and communities will hold these districts to both the letter and spirit of the law.\" State Rep. John Walker, DLittle Rock, an attorney who also represents the black students known as the Joshua intervenors in the case, said he was pleased with the ruling on the state funding but disappointed that the appeals court ruled in favor of releasing the North Little Rock school system from court monitoring. He has asked Marshall, the disq:ict judge, to review the testimony given Miller earlier and arrive at a di,fferent conclusion regarding the North Little Roe~ district's eligibility for full uru-tary status. . ''We will be back before the court of appeals on those,\" Walker said.' . NORTHLI TTLER OCK Miller had found that the North Little Rock district met the requirements of its desegregation plan in most areas - including student discipline and achievement - but failed to adequately document its efforts to recruit black teachers. Miller directed that the district do that documentation for two more years. The 8th Circuit panel reversed Miller's ruling. \"While the goal of documenting compliance over t:in:ie is a laudable one, the district court abused its discretion by imposing new data collection and reporting requirements with respect to staff recruitment that were not agreed to by the parties in the 1992 Plan,\" the appeals court opinion states. The 8th Circuit found that the North Little Rock district's efforts constituted a good faith effort. It also found the remnants c\n\u0026gt;vr estiges of a segregated school system had been eliminated to the extent practicable. That was shown by the fact that the percentage .of black teachers in the district - now 16.7 percent - exceeded that in the labor market. About 9 percent of the certified educators in the state are black. The appeals court directed the district judge to declare the district unitary and released from court monitoring. , \"Itis a matter of real significance and pride to-North Little Rock that they will be unitary and o~t of court supervision,\" said Jones, t\nlie ,district's attorney. North Little Rock Superintendent Ken Kirspel said there is likely to be less documentation and panPrwork required of district officials, who will no longer have to prove their efforts to the courts. But he said little else will change in the way the district does business. \"Our attitude is not going to change. We are going to ke,ep doing things as we have been doing, which is acting in the best interest of kids,\" Kirspel said. PULASKCIO UNTSYP ECIAL The 8th Circuit affirmed Miller's finding that the Pulaski County Speci\n district failed to meet its, obligations in regard to student assignment, .e,.dvanced Placement and gifted educati\u0026lt;\n\u0026gt;n, discipline, school facilities, scholarships, special education, ~taffing, student achievement and monitoring. The appeals court-rejected arguments that the. district had better.desegregation outcomeS: in sorheofsthose areas than othe, custr}cts :that have been declared unitacy - ~ven though it had .failed to carry out the relevant'prov.isions of its Desegregation Plan 2000. Repeatedly the court wrote: \"PCSSD has done nothing to demonstrate to the public and the parents and students of the once disfavored race that it intends to honor its commitment in good faith.\" Charters get 'slice' of school lawsuit Judgeli mitsr olei n desegregatiocna se ' CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSASDEMOCRAT-GAZETIE Charter schools in Pulaski County received permission Thursday to intervene in the long-running school desegregation lawsuit to fight Little Rock School District efforts to put limits on them. U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. said in a -15-page order that he \"welcomes the chartc:r schools' participation in one important slice of the case.\" But the judge denied the open-enrollment charter school group's request to challenge the constitutionality of the 1989 fmancial settlement between the state and school districts, along with the operation of magnet schools in Little Rock and the long-standing majority-to-minority interdistrict student transfer. program. \"They [the charter schools] may intervene to oppose that part of the LRSD/Joshua motion dealing with them,\" Marshall wrot~. The Joshua intervenors, who joined the Little Rock district in the dispute, are black students in the three Pulaski County districts. \"The case will benefit from the charter schools' participation on the motion to enforce. \"Their participation, however, is limited to opposing that motion. The charter schools' proposed constitutional offensive against the 1989 Settlement Agreement and related Stipulations comes too late in the case. It would unfairly prejudice the other parties, and lielatedly refocus the litigation at a newcomer's insistence, to bring these new constitutional issues front and center now. \"[T)he Court rejects their effort to lead an eleventh- hour reorientation of this long-running dispute.\" In May 2010, the Little Rock district filed a motion contending that the state Board of Education gave unconditional approval to the establishment of taxpayersupported, independently operated charter schools in Pulaski County without regard to the effect the charter schools would have on desegregation efforts in the three Pulaski County school districts. The district said that See CHARTEPRa,g e 3A Arkansas Democrat azette Charter  Continued from Page 1 A the charter schools - of which there are a dozen in the county - draw students who would otherwise choose to attend magnet schools or participate in the majorityto- minority transfer program, both of which are intended to promote racial desegrega-tion. ' The district further argued that more affluent, higherachieving students move to charter schools, leaving the districts with greater concentrations of high-need stucJ,ents and fewer resources to serve them. No action was taken on the Lit\"Je Rock district's 2010 complaint fqr more. than a year while the court and parties dealt with other issues in the 29-year-old' federal lawsuit, but Marshall in August set up a schedule for the parties to collect evidence and present arguments: In September, a team uf attorneys headed by former Rep. Mike Wilson, D-Jacksonville, and Jess Askew III of Little Rock filed the motion to intervene on behalf of the charter schools. The charter schools' at-torneys argued thtt the 1989 financial settlement, the magnet schools and the majority- to-minor-. ity interdis- Askew trict student transfer pro-, gram - all elements of the desegregation lawsuit - are , unconstitutional and unenforceable because of their reliance on racial quotas for assigning students to schools and because there were no time limits on the use of those quotas. ' The charter schools' 'attorneys urged that the 1989 multimillion-dollar settlement between the state and the districts \"be terminated and extinguished in its en-tirety.\" . The Little Rock district opposed the participation and arguments of the charter school group. The state - represented by the Arkansas attorney general's office - did not file a response in support or in opposition to the proposed intervention. \"Today's decision is very good news for the charter schools,\" Askew said in an e-mail message Thursday. \"They will be permitted to defend themselves and their contracts. That is what the charter schools sought. \"The charter schools seek to drive fundamental change that will enhance public education optios and outcomes for children and to break away from failed and outmoded thinking. LRSD and the Joshua intervenors wanted to.complain about the charter schqols but did' not want them in the case to have their own voice.','. As for Marshall's decision to not allow the charter group to delve into the constitutionality of the 1989 settlement and other agreements in the case, Askew said the constitutionality issues \"will not go away.\" Askew pointed to a part of Marshall's order in which the judge said he believes tlie constitutional- / ity of the agreements will be \"adequately 'ventilated soon by the current parties.\" Askew said: \"This is a significant development in the case. The fact that, in 2011,' LRSD is assigning children to magnet school seats based on race is troubling, to say the least, and demands close scrutiny, regardless of the tortured path that led to this point. This is the basic issue raised   FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2011  3A by the 2007 [U.S. Supreme mit their written legal brief Court decision restricting in the case by Feb. 10. The race-based assignments], and state's brief is due March 12 the charter schools were the and Marshall suggested that first to highlight this issue.\" the charter intervenors join C h r i s with the state in preparing Heller, an at- . that written argument. torney for the A court hearing is set Little Rock for March 29 to determine district, said whether an evidentiary hearThursday that ing will be necessary. Marshall's de- Marsh a 11 cision \"seems con c I u de d fair.\" in his order Heller That's be- Thu r s d a y cause \"the charter schools will not be allowed to raise new issues but only argue against a'remedy that could change the way they operate,\" he added. Aaron Sadler, a spokesman for the attorney general's of- . flee, said Thursday that the state attorneys in the case were reviewing Marshall's order and didn't have a comment on it. 1n the order, Marshall gave the charter school intervenors until Jan. 15 to revise their complaint to omit the constitutional challenges and to respond to the Little Rock district's motion to enforce the 1989 settlement in regard to the establishment of charter schools. The Little Rock district and Joshua intervenors must sub-that the charter school intervenors have standing to par- Marshall ticipate in the 1 case because the Little Rock district and Joshua intervenors seek to limit enrollment at the charter schools and the charter group's re'l}lest was timely. But.it was \"untimely\". on the constitutional issues because. the other parties.in the case had made the agreements \"decades ago\" and the agreements are guiding the case. The judge added that the charter schools are not the party to raise the constitutional issues because ultimately the charter schools may not have standing to remain in the case. The judge also concluded that the charterschools are not entitled to intervene \"as a right\" because their interests are adequately represented by the state of Arkansas. The schools do, however, have \"permission\" to intervene, the \"judge said, partly in case he is wrong about the adequacy of the state's representation and because the -charter schooi group's participation \"will give the court the benefit of these intervenors' important views.\" \"The Court therefore exercises its discretion to give the charter schools a limited, though important, role so this case will keep moving forward fairly and efficiently,\" M arsh!\u0026gt;.!w! rote. Appeals Court: Arkansas Can't Stop Desegregation Payments - ArkansasBusiness.com Registerf or arkansasbusiness.corIn Site Help I ContactA BPG arkansas Arkansas, Business Page 1 business.com SearchA rkansasBusiness.coj men terk e.ywordh.se re i .,?~ Sign up for daily updates from the ArkansasB usiness newsroom! i enter your email I m q:Jfijj\\j ?i)ttt '\"\"i,nr\n.,~ Tthls:1)' l\"il'M'' Agriculture 8\nPoultry Architecture Banking 8\nFinance Business Services Construction Education Energy Government fr Politic!\u0026gt; Health Care Insurance Investments Legal Manufacturing Media 8\nMarketing Nonprofits Public Companies Real Estate Restaurants \u0026amp; Food Retail Small Business Technology 8\nTelecom Tourism Transportation lt4iFIAC rmm\nm, mmB rmm lliiJE Tuesday. January 03, 2012 1:13:1'1 PM education Recommend Twe,et O , 0 Appeals Court: Arkansas Can't Stop Desegregation Payments By The AssociatedP ress 12/28/201112:16:35 PM LITTLE ROCK -- A federal appeals court has ruled that the state can't stop providing desegregation money to Little Rock-area school districts Change font size\n~1 ptU'lt r.,rtll1~ir ~ ~ [~ .~:~M\nrticle without a separate hearing and a judge's order. The ruling from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes months after U.S. District Judge Brian Miller ordered an end to most of the payments, calling them counterproductive. The districts appealed to the appeals court, which heard the case in September. The state has been spending about $38 million per year to help finance magnet schools that help keep a racial balance in the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County school districts. Wednesday's ruling vacates Millers order and keeps the money flowing until the matter is resolved in a separate court proceeding. (Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, broadcast or distributed.) Subscribe To Arkansas Business Nominate Arkansas llusiness 40 Under 40 Submit A Whi~:.per Submit Calendar Event Vote For Best Of Business Follow @ArkBusiness On Twitter Subscribe To N\\VA BusinesJso urnal 1/1/7()1? Education otebook CYNTHIA HOWELL AND EVIE BLAD ARKANSADSE MOCRAT-GAZETTE Ex-chiesfe eking post in Louisiana Charles Hopson, the former superintendent of the Pulaski County Special School District, is now one of 43 candii dates for the superintendent's position in the 43,300-student East Baton Rouge Parish, La., school system. Hopson had headed the Pulaski County Special district for almost one year when Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell and the Arkansas Department of Education took control of the fiscally distressed district. The school board was dissolved and Hopson was immediately dismissed. Two years remained on his contract. . A state-appointed school district chief was named to manage the district. Hopson filed a federal lawsuit last August against Kimbrell, Gov. Mike Beebe and Pulaski County Special's current superintendent, Jerry Guess, challenging the constitutionality of Arkansas statutes that grant, or have been interpreted to grant, the Education Department the authority to \"disavow\" contracts with superintendents and teachets. The lawsuit, which is still pending, also accused the defendants of ending Hopson's contract without a fair hearing or due process and without just compensation. Officiahl ealing from heart attack Gene Whilhoit, a former director of the Arkansas Department of Education in the mid-1990s and now the executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, is recovering from a heart attack that he suffered on Christmas Eve, according to State EdWatch, a blog sponsored by the national Education Week newspaper. Wilhoit, 68, has told state education chiefs that he expects to make a full recovery and return to work within a couple of months. The Council of Chief State School Officers, to which Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell belongs, has been a leader in promoting the development and implementation of the national Common Core State Standards in math and English/language arts. The organization has also been at the forefront in working with Congress to re-craft the terms of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, known as the No Child Left Behind Act. of Marketing and Advertising, will serve as acting dean, replacing former Dean Tony Chelte, Chancellor Joel Anderson wrote in a note to faculty. ''After much consideration I have concluded that a change in leadership of the College of Business would serve the interests of the college,\" Anderson wrote. UALR spokesman Judy Williams would not say why Anderson had removed Chelte, calling it a \"personnel issue.\" Wayland previously served as interim dean of the business college from 2007 to 2009. Chelte's salary as dean was $188,850. UAr anked5 3rd in best-valuleis t Kiplinger'sP ersonalF inance named the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville 53rd on its 100 Best Values in Public Colleges list. The organization compiles the list by ranking more than 500 public institutions in quality measures sudi as graduation rates and cost measures such as financial aid availability and total student expenses. The UA is the only Arkansas college or university on the list, released Jan. 3. Students at the Fayetteville The chancellor of the Uni- university graduate with an versity of Arkansas at Little average debt of $21,562\nacRock has replaced the school's  cording to Kiplinge(s.  business dean, he said Friday. Businesdse an at UALRre placed Jane Wayland, currently chairman of the Department New countys Chootli mesu rged Districtp roposese arliers tartf or elementaryp upilsi n 2012-13 CYNTHIA HQWELL switch from the current bell for middle and high schools said. The late start time also ARKANSAS DE!v!OCRAT-GAZETIE schedule in the state's third- would range from 3:30 p.m. makes it difficult for parents Pulaski County Special largest district of about 17,600 to 3:55 p.m. to see their children off to bus School District leaders are students.   .   Elementary school start stops in the morning before proposing a change in the In genera( elenientary times are now 8:2S a.m. to they leave for work. ' start and dismissal times for schools would start between 8:30 a.m., and secondary \"It was a fine-idea to have schools in 2012-13 to aJl:ay the 7:45 a.m. and 8:15 .a.m. next schools start about 7:30 a.m., tried this, but we really.think conce'rns of som'e i,arents school-year, with'seconc!ary .\nan arrarigement,that has been this new,schedule would be and save money in the c:1),sh- schools beginning between  a corn\n:ern t6 pru-ents, Super- to the advantage of parents, strappeq dil\\tzict. / ~ {'?~ 8\": 10 a.m. and 8:35 a.m., ac- intendent JerrGyu ess said. particularly to the elementary : If th'fj:,r'oposai-i~ i~pl~\n' :cording to th(, p~6posal put Many parents who start parents,\" _he said. meJ.?-t,e.de,l ementary\n~c,R'.\u0026lt;i\u0026amp;($oVut. lf or publi\u0026lt;.:c 9nsideration. work at 8 a.m. have to drop :pelaymg _the s_econdary would'.,have',ead{er'.'.~'irii/' , Elementary, dismissal off their eleme.ntary children school startm~ times _also ing times' th~,.~p'i\nIR. c_(a,}~_fitrn esw ould.',' IJI).gef rom 2:30 at school at 7:45 a:m, but cla.ss ! ~~:~~_. e_~~fic1~:,1h rr Sat1\nand high schools,_wh:,i1j.).~a:g... m. t~3 P!Jl.\nt~d dismissal doesn't start uritil 8:25, Gue~s , ...._ ..~~e~. T~~T~ Tl~-~~ age 7B Start time  Continued from Page i B \"They are starting as early at 7:30 a.m. Is it better to start . early, or is it better to start late? I havea 10th-grader that I'm raising, and it is hard as the dickens to get him up,\" he said. Guess acknowledged that some people like the system as it is, and he doesn't discount those opinions, \"but this does gives l\\S a chance to satisfy a lot of concerns and be more efficient in our bus system operation at the same time.\" The district was classified by the state as fiscally distressed last spring. In June, state Department of Education officials took over the district, dismissing the superintendent and disbanding the School Board because of continued financial concerns. State Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell appointed Guess to head the district until local control is reinstated or the state Education Board takes other action against the district. Kimbrell serves as the district's School Board. Derek Scott, the district's chief operations officer, said the district could save a minimum of $500,000 if the new schedule is instituted. The savings would result from combining routes, reducing staff through attrition and retiring at least 20 buses, depending on transportation needs in the new school year. Currently the district has a fleet of about 375 buses, Scott said. Deborah Roush, a spokesman for the district, said district leaders wanted to give the public ample time to react to the possible schedule change. \"We know some would celebrate this news, and for others it will mean the need to make scheduling changes. That's why it was critical to begin discussions about this as soon as possible,\" Roush said. Roush said parents with questions or comments may contact the district at (501) 234-2038 or send the district a message about the plan via a contact form on the district's ,web site: pcssd.org. The district's current bell schedule has been in place since September 2010. The schedule was the end result of months of disae:reement between the district and the Pulaski Association of Classroom T~achers on school-day schedulmg and other issues. The schedule resulted in the purchas\"e of39 additional buses - bought used from the Memphis area - and the hiring of as many as 50 drivers. Initially, district leaders instituted a restructured teacher workday in which elementary teachers' 45-minute planning time was incorporated into the students' school day, rather than before or after the student day. That resulted in a longer student class day. State law requires that teacher preparation time be built into the student day unless that is waived in contract negotiations between a district and its teachers, as it had been in the Pulaski County district. But in early 2010, the district's School Board voted to end its recognition of the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers as a represent~ tive of the employees, making the change'in teacher preparation time and student class day necessary to conform to state law. Individual teachers and the teachers' association sued the Pulaski County Special district and some School Board members over the altered schedule, contending that the restructured day violated the terms of the teachers' contract. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox ultimately voided the School Board votes that ended recognition of the teacher union and directed that the district recognize the existing teacher contract that put the 45-minute planning periods before and after the elementary school day. Then-Superintendent Charles Hopsqn attempted to retain the n~w start and stop times for schools., arguing that the longer school day was beneficial to students.  Just before a court hearing in the teachers' legal challenge to the altered bell schedule, an agreement was reached that created the current start and dismissal times. As a result of the agreedupon schedule, the elementary and secondary schools were dismissing at close to the same times in the afternoon _,_ about 3 p.m. That prevented the district from staggering the use of its buses !n the afternoon and making 1t necessary to acquire addition\ni l h11sPs. Educationno tebook CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSADS EMOCRAT-GAZETTE Firmt o helps tate seek law leeway The Arkansas Department of Education has contracted with EducationCounsel of Washington, D.C., for help in crafting a proposal to the U.S. Department of Education for flexibility in complying with the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In September, as efforts in Cong~ess to alter the law stalled, the federal Education Department invited states to propose waivers to the law - including the provision that calls for 100 percent of students to score at prbficient or advanced levels on. state mathematics and literacy tests by 2013-14. To that end, the state has set minimum annual student achievement requirements for schools. Schools in which the student body as a whole or subgroups of students fail to meet the annual requirements are labeled as needing improvement and penalized. The Arkansas Education Department in November and December held forums around the state to solicit ideas for revisions to the state's system for holding schools accountable. Education Counsel is a law, policy, strategy and advocacy organization that works to improve education systems, close achievement gaps and expand student access to educational opportunities. State officials hope to take a draft proposal to Dallas at the end of this month for rev. iew by the_ Council of Chief State School Officers and submit the state proposal to the federal Education Department by a Feb. 21 deadline. Districat ddss ite for registrations A change has been made this year in one of the locations for the Little Rock School District's annual reg- I istration for students who will be new to the district in 2012-13o r who want to attend schools other than their attendance- zone schools. The registration period is Jan. 23 through Feb. 3. As in the past, parents may register theii: children in kindergarten.through 12th grades at their attendancezone schools or at the schools they would like to attend. Additionally, in the first week of registration, which is Jan. 23-27, parents may register their children who will be in prekindergarten through high school at a site being used by the district for the first time this year - St. Mark Baptist Church, 5722 W. 12th St. The hours for registration will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. During the second week of registration, Jan. 30 through Feb. 3, parents may register at the district's Student Registration Office, ,501 Sherman St., near East Capitol Avenue and Interstate 30. The St. Mark site is being used this year because it is larger and more centrally located than the district's Student Registration Office. Communications chief to resign Tiffany Hoffman, the Little Rock School District's director of communications for the past five years, is resigning from the job effective March 1. Hoffman, who is a former district teacher, said she is taking a position with a local real estate company. Little Rock Superintendent Morris Holmes announced the resignation at a School Board meeting Thursday night in which he asked the School Board members to provide him with ideas about commu11ications and public relations for the_s tate's largest school system.  FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2012  3B Judge sides with state on school data : EVIE BLAD ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE A federal judge refused Thursday to require the Arkansas Department of Education to provide some information requested by attorneys for the Little Rock School District to prepare for a hearing in the decades-long Pulaski County school-desegregation lawsuit. The Arkansas attorney general's office, the district and an intervening party representing black students in the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special school districts are preparing for a March hearing regarding the impact of charter schools on enforcement of a 1989 settlement agreement in the case. U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. said information that the state provided was adequate for the hearing, which was scheduled to determine if the issue merits consideration by the court. He said he may require the state to provide the requested information later if the issue goes to trial. \"While the data that has been provided is not perfect, it is substantial,\" Marshall said. \"I believe it is adequate for the parties to argue to the court on whether or not the matter should proceed.\" The state provided data showing numbers of students who transferred from Little Rock schools to charter schools in Pulaski County and what percentages of them were of certain races, and academic and income levels.  Chris Heller, an attorney for the Little Rock School District, said that information was sorted in a way that makes it difficult to track patterns involving race, academic achievement and poverty. The data lacked \"linking information\" that would allow researchers to identify one student by multiple characteristics. -\\. I More information Desegregatiofnil es arkansasonline.com/desegdocs/ Assistant Attorney General Scott Richardson said providing that level of detail could put the state at risk of violating the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Such a violation could put millions of dollars of federal funding that the state receives annually in jeopardy, he said. \"As you increase the level of detail about students, you increase the likelihood of identifying those students,\" Richardson said. Heller said court precedent showed that such information could be provided under a court order without violating the privacy act. The district would be willing to sign a protection order, agreeing not to use the data to determine the names of individual students, he said. Marshall said the state was likely being \"overly cautious and hypersensitive\" about.providing the information, which does not include students' names or addresses. \"If we have this fight on the merits eventually, th.is may well come out another way,\" he said. The Little Rock district and the Joshua intervenors, repre-senting the black students in the desegregation case, contend that the state gave unconditional approval to the establishment of taxpayersupported, independently operated charter schools in Pulaski County without regard to the effect the charter schools wo'L)ld have on desegregation efforts in the three districts. They have argued that the charter schools - of which there are about a dozen in the county - draw students who would otherwise choose to attend magnet schools or participate in the majority- to-minority transfer program,. both of which are intended to promote racial desegregation. The district further argued that more affluent, higherachieving students move to charter schools, leaving the districts with greater concentrations of high-need students and fewer resources to serve them. Auditors again cite districtf or bank.lags CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKAN~ASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE Auditors cited the North Little Rock School District for failing for the fourth consecutive year to reconcile school district accounts and bank statements in a timely manner. However, the audit also noted that since the June 30 end of the audited fiscal year, school district officials are reconciling accounts as required. \"We recommend that the district take steps to resolve any reconciling differences and continue preparing future reconciliations in a timely manner,\" the.Hudson, Cisne \u0026amp; Co. audit said. ' The North Little Rock School Board on Thursday approved the district's 2010-11 audit. The district's failure in 2007- 08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 to do regular bank reconciliations through01.1tth e year resulted in the 9,000-student district being classified by the state Board of E?ucation last May as \"fiscally distressed.\" School districts in the state's fiscal-distress. program must develop and carry out a stateapproved financial improvement plan, and they are subject to state supervision of all fman- ' cial practices, including district spending. Denise Drennan began woJk July 1 as the North Little Rock distric\nt's chief financial officer. At that point Drennan and her staff could not correct the earlier reporting on the bank statements. \"The [fiscal] year was already complete,\" Drennan said in an interview after the board vote Thursday. \"Even though we went back and looked at those statements for accuracy we still couldn't change the time that they were turned in. So we kne~ we \"':ere going to have an audit fmding for timely reconciliation of bank statements.\" Drennan said that while the auditors were preparing the 2010-11 audit in October and November, they could see c_hanges in the district's operations. 'We had already implemented a lot of new procedures,\" Drennan said. \"Our bank statements are being tu~ned in by the 10th of the month like they are supposed to be. They are accurate. The auditors could see tl\niose changes.\" In each of the first six months of the 2012 fiscal year the variance between bank and district accounts has remained at a constant $98,128.75. \"In our detail for the month we can get to zero, but we still have the $98,000 that carries forward:' Drennan said. She said she anticipates that the state Department of Education will eventually authorize correcting the district's financial records to elii\nninate the longstanding variance. Countys chool ~ct puts7 8 projectso n fix-upl ist EVIE BLAD ARKANSADSE MOCRAT-GAZETTE Leaders of the Pulaski County Special School District presented Thursday a list of an estimated $7 million in facilities projects designed to keep the district's buildings \"dry, safe and warm.\" The district will prioritize the 78 projects \"through the desegregation lens\" to en,sure it applies greater emphasis on Projects  Continued from Page 18 facilities in majority-black and poor areas, Chief Operating Officer Derek Scott said. Work on the six-year plan will start in the next few months, with about $2 million to $3 million of projects completed in the first year, he said. The list, which includes repairing roofs, adding security lighting and replacing heating systems, is dwarfed in comparison to a $104 million construction plan supported by ,former Superintendent Charles Hopson last year. That plan, which called for new construction, aggressive rehabilitation and consolidation of several campuses, was shelved indefinitely when the state took control of the fiscally distressed district in June, dissolving its board and removing Hopson, said state-appointed Superintendent Jerry Guess. The previous plan was \"not supported by the current financial situation of the district,\" he said. Exercising authority under school-finance laws, the state took control of the district after several audits turned up problems and after public infighting among School Board members. and achievement. But tixin_gfa cilities to the court's satisfaction will likely require additional funding through a voter-approved tax increase, he said. Arkansas Department of Education employees quickly discovered the district had spent nearly $7 million more than it took in the previotis year. That.led to cost-cutting and careful.spending, Guess said. \"What we're trying to do right now is take care of the buildings that we have,\" he said.' See PROJECTPSa,g e 68 At therneeting, Scott showed slides of deteriorating roofs, poorly draining sidewalks and crumbling metal exterior doors with holes that let sunlight peek into buildings. Rizelle Aaron, an officer in the Jacksonville chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, asked Scott how the funds would be targeted to \"predominantly minority areas.\" Federal judges in the decades- long Pulaski County school desegregation lawsuit, which also involves the Little Rock and North Little Rock districts, have cited greater facilities spending in majority-white and afiluent parts of the county district when they refused to declare it unitary, or desegregated, in the area of.facilities. \"Given the state of the economy right now, I don't think we can get voters to approve that,\" Guess said. Scott said the list of projects would be fulfilled with schools in areas targeted in the desegregation rulings receiving top priority.  \"Right now, we're fiscally constrained,\" he said. ''But we're going to do what we can with what we have.\" State law requires school districts to file annual facilities plans with the Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Division. Those plans must first be reviewed in public hearings, like the one held Thursday, and approved by the district's school board. Under state controL Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell will review the documents in place of a school board, Scott said. Teachers and parents attending Thursday's hearing listed additional facilities needs, citing warped and missing ceiling tiles, faulty heating systems and lack of exterior lights on some buildings. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis last month upheld a lower court's ruling that denied unitary status to the county district in nine areas, including facilities. Guess said Thursday that he believes the district can quickly remedy problems in other areas, such as student assignme!lt Replacing a 40-year-old roof at the Fuller Middle School main building will be the first project, he said Other projects include resolving drainage issues at several buildings, adding awnings, replacing sewer pipes in some facilities and remodeling bathrooms. The projects will be funded through the district's facilities fund, which has about $3 million, Scott said. Guess said the district has worked to trim el(:penses by. changing its fringe benefits plan, reworking its bell sch~dule for students and negotiating new contracts with some suppliers. - Districrt egistration set for new students ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE will register at the Pulaski New student registration County Special School Disfor the 2012-13 school year trict administration buildin the Pulaski County Spe- ing, 925 E. Dixon Road\nLittle cial School District is set for Rock. Monday through Feb. 3. Students who want to The registration period attend magnet schools or is for pre-kindergarten, kin- participate in other types dergarten and any other stu- of school-choice progr\nims, dents who will be first-time inclu.ding the majority-tostudents in the Pulaski Coun- minority interdistrict stuty Special district, which en- dent transfer program or an compasses Maumelle, Sher- academic specialty program, wot\u0026gt;d, Jacksonville, parts of also must sign up at the diswest Little Rock and w'est trict's administration buildPulaski County, and south- ing. Permission to participate east Pulaski County. in school-choice programs is To aid parents in making granted on a first-come, firstdecisions about schools for served basis. their children, the district is To register a student, hosting an open house at all parents or guardians need schools in the district from to present identification for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday. the child, such as a birth cerParents may use that time to tificate or a registrar statetour schools and meet school ment, baptismal certificate, personnel. passport, affidavit or military Locations for registration identification. vary according to the stu- Also necessary are the  dentt's grade level and other child's previous school re-acp o rs.i ,\n\"d t' kinde cor d s, rm muruz atlo n recor d s, re-NM' erg~.r\ne n, _,\n-::a. transcript or last report garten and elementary pupils    are supposed to register at card, and Social Se':ur~ty the schools they will attend. ~a.rd. H~wever, the d1st~1ct Registration for mic!dle will assign an alternative and high school students will number to any student whose be held at regional registra- paren_ts choos~ not to reveal tion hubs as follows a Soc1al,Secunty number.  Students who will attend Address verification also Jacksonville and Sherwood is necessary in the form of area middle and high schools a curre~t utility bill, a Little will register at Sylvan Hills Rock Air Force Base housMiddle School,.10001 John- ing verific\nation form, homeson St., Sherwood. purchase closing papers or  Students who will attend home lease agreements. Robinson ar{d Maumelle area More information about middle and high schools will Pulaski County Special register at Maumelle High School District schools and School, lOQ Victory Lane, the registration procedures Maumelle. is available by calling the  S'tudents who will aftend district's Office of Equity Fuller Middle School and and Pupil Services at (501) Mills University High School 234-2020. Open~ nrollment 1begins Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEPHEBN. THORNTON Victoria Williams, 3, plays as her mother, Jessica Williams, signs her up for the Little Rock School District's 4-year-old program Monday at St. Mark Baptist Church, 5722 W. 12th St. Enrollment shifts next Monday to the Student Registration Office at 501 Sherman St. Registration under way for NLRschools ARKANSASD EMOCRATGAZETI\"E Registration is under way for students who will be new to the North Little Rock School District in the 2012-13 school year. To register children in the North Little Rock district, parents must present proof of residence at their neighborhood school. Additionally, parents of North Little Rock students who want to attend specialprogram magnet schools in Little Rock School District must apply by Feb. 3 at the North Little Rock School District's administration building, 2700 N. Poplar St. Students who live in the Pulaski County Special School District but want to enroll in the North Little Rock School District through the majority-to-minority interdistrict school-transfer program should complete an application at the administration building in the district in which they reside. The majority-to-minority transfer program allows students who live in a Pulaski County district in which their race is predominant to transfer to a district where their race is in the minority. Students who live outside the district but want to attend North Little Rock schbols through school-choice programs other than the majority- to-minority program must register at the North Little Rock district's administration building. Children who will be 5 on or before Aug. 1 this year are eligible to attend kindergarten for the 2012-13 school year.  2B  WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2012  Sclioorle gistratioin NLR.  ! ' , I  Arkansas Democr\nit-Ga,z~tte/RICK McFARLAND The North Little Rock School District's director of student affairs, Fran Jackson (right), display~ a map while helping Matf.a~d Jennifer Reed register their son, Jack, 4, for kindergarten as his sister Georgia, 2, sits patiently. Registration in the district runs through Feb.-3. Educationno tebook CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Reimbursements soughitn lawsuit The Little Rock School District and black students known as the Joshua intervenors are seeking reimbursement for legal fees and costs in their successful challenge last year of a court order that would have ended most state desegregation aid to the three Pulaski County school districts. The Little Rock district filed a petition in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St Louis seeking nearly $95,000 from the state, Chris Heller, an attorney for the district, notified the Little Rock School Board late last week. The state had defended U.S. District Judge Brian Miller's May 2011 order to immediately end most of the $70 million a year in state desegregation aid to the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County school districts. A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court on Dec. 28 negated Miller's order, saying that if the state wished to obtain relief from its funding obligations there had to be an evidentiary hearing on the issue. Heller and Clay Fendley, who represented the district on the appeal, routinely discount their hourly fees for their work for the district. But they petitioned the 8th Circuit for their standard rates of $300 and $160 an hour. 'The rates charged to LRSD for th~ appeal were $200 and $120, respectively,\" Heller told the board. \"Clay and I have agreed, however, that all fees awarded by the Eighth Circuit should go to LRSD and not to compensate us for the difference between our regular rates and our discmunted rates.\" Heller said attorneys for the Joshua intervenors, who successfully defended Miller's ruling that the Pulaski County Special School District had failed to comply with its desegregation plan, have petitioned the court for more than $366,000 in fees and costs. Reporitn cludes data on absences Morris Holmes, superintendent of the Little Rock School District, ha~ begun regularly updating the School Board on the progress the district is making toward meeting its goals of raisipg student achievement. The resulting quarterly report is a big one, 348 pages, chock-full of2010 and 2011 data - including teacher absenteeism and stu~ent absences and tardies - information that previously hasn't always been as timely or easy to put a finger on. There were 6,046 schoolbased certified-employee absences for illness in th.e second quarter this year that ended in December. That was 265 more days than the 5,781a bsences f?r illness in the second quarter m the 2010-11s chool year. A total of 711.5 personal leave days were taken by teachers and principals in the second quarter of this school year. That's up from the 603.5 personal leave days taken in the same time period last year. The number of absences for professional leave dec~d from 2,053 in the second quarter in the previous school year as compared with 1,460.5 in the second quarter that just ended. As for the district's 25,027 students, an average of 1,256 students were absent ~ach day in the second nine-week quarter of the school year. In that same period, there were 12,497 students who were tardy to school a total of36,358 times. The quarterly report also includ\\!S grade-by-grade and school-by-school test results, as well as numbers of students in gifted education, special education and English-languagelearning programs. Data on student enrollment in foreign language, art and Advanced Placement courses is included, as are data on how many students qualify for subsidized school meals and how many 1 students were disciplined so far this year as compared with 1,.,.,... Theaa nnounces scholarshwipi ns The Thea Foundation of North Little Rock has announced the winners of its 2012 Performing Arts Scholarship Competition in which 77 high school seniors competed Jan. 7 for scholarships. John Hatfield ofRussellville High School won first place and a scholarship of $4,000. Mary-Katelin Ward, North Little Rock High School, won second place and a $3,500 scholarship. Stacy Hawking, North Little Rock High School, received third-place honors and a $3,000 scholarship. Sara Williams, a homeschooled student from Roland, won fourth place and a $2,500 award. Meredith Short, North Little Rock High School, placed fifth\nDominic Smith of Rogers Heritage High was sixth\nElizabeth Wheeler, a home-schooled student from Alexander was seventh\nWalter Dodd, Little Rock Parkview Magnet High\nwas eighth\nDylan Worth, Cabot High, was ninth\nand Ashley Tramel, Russellville High, was 10th. Each of the fiftb-throughlOth- place winners received $2,000 awards. Hono~able mention awards went to Robert Brave, Little Rock Central High\nChacall Charles, Little Rock Central High\nGrace Dyer, Rogers High\nTaylor Jacob, Joe T. Robinson High\nJenna O'Dell, Farmington High\nand Michael Roberson, Little Rock Catholic High School for Boys. District piles up fiscal distress Statef urtherc itesc ountys chools . CY:}!\"THIA,}J:QWELL i_r~figul_ari5\\u~~.s,.~ _oy~redb y 'ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE stl#tanq private aui:hts. The Arkaqsas P!'!par.t- The district, which has al-ment of Education is recom- ready lpst its locally elected mending that the Pulaski School Board and its boardCounty Special School Dis- hired superintendent, is in trict be classified as fiscally jeopardy of being merged .distressed because of a $5.5 with one or more other million drop in the. district's school systems if it cannot financial reserves between fix its financial problems. the beginning and end of the Bill Goff, the Pulaski 2010-ll school year. County Special district's The agency recomrnenda- chief financial officer, said tion to the Arkansas Board of the district will very likely Education is unprecedented  have to cut at least $7 million because the school system in 17penses for the coming is already in the state's fiscal 2012-13 school year. distress program and actu- He characterized the ally under state control. The state's latest recommendastate classified the district as tion as a call for the district fiscally distressed in March to add to a plan it prepared 2011 for a different reason last year in response to its - financial management See PCSSDP,a ge 3A PCSSD al times that were last used throughout the district in 2009-10. That change would  Continued from Page 1A save about $500,000, offiinitial placement in the state's cials estimate. A new schoolfiscal distress program. bell schedule would require \"We will have to revise our fewer bus routes and buses financ::ial imprqvemen't plan as well.a.sfewer.payments to to ~l)_()w,.tiowwew ill:remedy employees for before- and our de.dining balances\n\"' said after-school supervision qf Goff. sjf1ents.-'  ..     Thit is necessary, he said, . Additionally, the 'district to build.up 'the district's year- has restructured its employend b~Iahies while accom- ee fringe benefit package in a modating some new but nee- way that will save the district essary costs such as replacing money, Go.ess ~aid'. buses.  And district administrators The state Education Board and leaders of th'e teachers is to act on the department's and support ~ervice employee latest recommendation for unions haye agreed to no genfiscal distress at its meeting eral raises for this school year, at 9 a.m. Monday. although eligible employees .Jerry Guess, the district's are rec::eiving a step inerease state-appointed superinten- fortheir additionalyear of _dent, notified the Education  work experience. . .  Department that the state's -- Gue.ss s'aid the dis,trict is third-largest_ district ~on't pi~mii,n'g. touse rdoney in oppose the state's rriove to, its building fun:d toCrehcivate expand the list of problems about a dozen schools:  ithl disfrict must correct. He  :''[n cl:oing Hiat work, we will\nchowever, attend'Mon- believe'thatwill increase ef-  d.a . _ r,,\nIsw.e. .i_llb~tein e~r.. ed.p.'..,'.L.: a,.rt.'a..:.t-..f,.,.e.i\nd ency .iri some of those \" rn , l:iJ~gs arid:th\n:i.i:wilSl !Vues meeting to address the' state  costs,\" he said: \"We are hopBoard with a statement of ing that by doing those renowhat has been done, as well as vation projects we will entice my proposal for future action, the community to continue to to remove PCSSD from its attend our schools and perfiscal distress status,\" Guess haps return' some kids who wrote last week to Kathleen are not in our schools back Crain, interim assistantcom- to our schools.\" missioner for fiscal and ad- The district .would likely ministrative services at the receive an increase in state Education Department. aid for any growth in s~dent \"We are looking at a lot enrollment.  of things for the new year,\" Enrollment is 17,637 this Guess said in an interview year, a 136-student inqease Monday about possible cost- over the previous year. Over saving measures. the long term the district's Those measures include enrollment has decreased, the possibility of returning to falling from 21,871 in 1988-89 school opening and dismiss- to 18,710 in 2000-01. Guess also welcomed what could be a warmer-than-average winter this year as away to save tens of thousands of dollars in utility costs. \"We need some things to break our way,\" he said. Guess said he and Goff are continuing this week to consider other options. \"We are spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to approach these issues in the most reasonable and equitable way possible.\" Adding to the reasons why the Pulaski County Special district is in fiscal distress won't buy the district any more time to correct its financial deficiencies, Seth Blomeley, a spokesman for the Education Department, said Monday. The district now has a little more than a year left to comply with what will be its revised financial improvement plan. The district's revised plan will be subject to state approval. A district in the state's fiscal distress program, by Jaw, has no more than two years to correct its financial problems. The state board must consolidate, annex or reconstitute any school district that fails to remove itself from the fiscal distress classification within the two-year window, uniess the state board finds that there are extenuating circumstances at play beyond the control of the school districts. The Education Department can take over a fiscally distressed district at any time before the two years expires if the agency staff determines that the district is not making TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2012  3A satisfactory progress. ders in excess of the district's ' Indeed, the department policy of $1,000 per vendor  took over the county district per month. last June, dismissing Charles At the time, state officials Hopson, who had been su- thought the district had suffiperintendent for just about cient reserve funds. But after a year, and dissolving the the state took over the district seven-member school board. last June, state officials deterGuess was appointed super- mined that the district had intendent by Arkansas Edu- drawn from its reserves. cation Commissioner Tom Goff said Monday .that Kimbrell. Kimbrell serves as the district's legal balances the district's school board. dropped from $9.5 million to Last month, Kimbrell called $4 million by the end of last on state lawmakers to amend year. Legal balances are those the state's fiscal distr.ess law to that the district has discretion aliow tb~--statetc' i hold on to on ho:w to\"s pend and are not contro'I.ofajo~~~cooldistrict earmarked for specific purfor ..u p:tq fj.\\r(!y e:s. Kimbrell poses. s~ld tw9\n.years is not always The district is benefiting enough.time for a community this school year from a oneto:- be re1dy to choose school time, $15.4 million windfall boarcL~e.mb~rs who can man-. in operating funds, which is age dismctfmances: and select the result of a change in.state a cap~ble sperinte~qent.  . law on the ~ccounting for lo- Th~\nJtuli\\ski Goiin\n-t~yp e- cal property'tax revem.ie,to dal qidtrictJ i.its'p l'ii.c\n'_eind the district. . fiscahdistress-fn 2011. after As a resuit of that ~barige, State'f)iv.i~ion ofLegisiative Arkansas s~hool districts no Audit:w.vi'stigationsihito the 101:ger defer tax revenue redistricfcjtedinternal control ce1ved befor~ June 30 to the d~fici('iri:ci1'etlh a:leta to'::rru.ir, ' next school year. . a~pr~:bt-i~fion' of.:'iqre tli'~n: \\\u0026gt; 9o_ff hafsaid that the. a,c$ 400,000'in cine department,, com:itmg change g~ve t~e ~uexcess pay to a former SU- laski ~ounty Special d1stnct perintendent, and unallowed more time to get current-year expense reimbursements to reve~ue an~ current year exadministrators and School pend1tures m sync. Board mernl:iers. State aiidi-tors also found failure in the district to follow purchasing policies and poor oversight of overtime compensation: Additionally, private auditors cited the district in fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010 for failing to put controls in place for reconciling bank statements in a timely manner, failing to document funding sources for employee pay, and issuing blanket purchase or- Countys choold istrictt o cut 77 jobs ' .  CYNTHIA HOWELL ' ARKANSADS EMOCRAT-GAZETrE ' The Pulaski County Special School District will reduce its staff by 77 positions through attrition and layoffs, and it will seek concessions in benefits and working conditions from employee unions in an effort to cut a total of $13 million for the 2012-13s chool year. Superintendent Jerry Guess and Bill Goff, the chief financial officer in the 17,000- student district, announced  the budget-cutting plans at an Arkansas Board of Education meeting Monday in which thestate board added declining year-end balances to the reasons why the district is classified as fiscally distressed. As part 9f the fiscal distress  program\n, th(! district's expenditures'are subject to state Department of Education approval. The district has the remainder of this year and tpe coming school year to right its financial problems or the state board must take action, such as merging the district with one or more other districts. ' The state board initially classified the district as fiscally distressed in March 2011 because of financial mismanagement of pubHc funds uncovered by state and private audits. After the state Department of Eduqation took control pf the district last June by dissolving the School Board and See PCSSDP, age6 A Pesso  Continued from Page 1 A dismissing the board-hired superintendent, officials determined  that the district's legal balances in 2010-11 had dropped from $9.5 million to $4 million by the end of the year. Legal balances are funds that a district generally has discretion on how to spend, and are not earmarked for specific purposes. Guess told the board the district has identified more than $6 million in cuts but needs to reduce $7 million in employee benefits that are in excess of those required by the state to take effect iri 2012-13. Most employees in the district are represented by either the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers or the Pulaski Association of Support Staff. Guess told the Education Board he would notify the unions today that the district will request reopening negotiations on those contracts. \"Our goal is to first convince the union that the situation ... is critieal and it does exist and that it will be fatal to the continued existence of the district if those conditions are not corrected,\" said Guess, who was appointed in late June to head the district by state Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell. Kimbrell serves in the role as the district's School Board. \"I do not want to approach these negotiations with an attitude of not succeeding or in a threatening posture,\" Guess said. But he also said: \"What I will do if we do not succeed, suffice it to say that I do have a plan for unilateral implementation of the district's last, best and final offer to the unions during these negotiations.\" Pressed by state board members to elaborate, Guess only said he was committed to reaching an agreement and to having a productive 2012-13 school year for students. Goff told the board that without budget cuts, the district - which has a $170 million budget and more than 2,800 employees - would exceed revenue by $13,633,277 in th~ coming school year. The district has identified $6,667,680 in reductions, including the elimination of 77 positions through retirements and resignations or, if necessary, a reduction-in-force to save a projected $3.85pilllion. Those would includ~ teaching, administrative ahd support staff positions. Another $775,328 will be saved by not filling positions already vacant. To offset eliminated jobs, the district would fill classes to the maximum number of students permitted by state standards. Other identified cuts include a $1.5 million change , in the employee's insurance i\n,p.ckage, as well I\\S a new copier machine contract, and a change in the opening and dismissal times for schools. Goff has identified $14.85 million in benefits that are not required by the state and could be cut from the contract with the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers. Another $1.4 million in benefits also could be cut from the district's contract with the, Pulaski Association of Sup-i port Staff, he said. ( Provisions in the emploriee contracts that could be cut include reducing the teacher work year from 192 to 190 days at a savings of $795,000, restricting the payment of teachers for noninstructional duties such as bus and recess duty at a savings of $642,752, and discontinuing the salary credits to teachers for professional groyVth classes given in the district, a savings of $2.8 million. . Other contracted benefits subject to cuts include $669,678 in \"severance\" pay to teachers who retire, $135,032 in stipends'to 37 teachers who earned-certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and $996,137 in longevity pay to 556 teachers and administrators who have reached the top of the salary s.chedule. The district would save nearly $3 million by contributing only the state-required $131 per month to employee health insurance versus $272.80 per month now paid to 1,747 covered employees. Another $1.4 million could b~ !ealized by cutting dental, v1s1on and disability insurance. Additional benefits now provided in the teachers' contract that are subject to possible cuts dea,1w ith leave time in excess of one sick day for each month of employment. The current leave policies cost the district about $2 million a year in substitute teacher pay. Goff tpld the board that the $7 million in cuts to employee costs are needed to compensate so~e antic~pated increases, mcluding $1.4 million in experience step increases to employees for next year a $2.8 million bus replacenie'.nt  program, a $500,000 increase in workers' compensa:ti,\nm insurance, a $588,000 transfer of funds to the food service program, and a 1 percent fucrease of $1.7 million to the legal balance fund to protect the district in case of emer-  genci~s. Education Board member .~rend_a Gullett of Fayetteville questioned why Guess and the Education Department had to adhere to the employee contracts since the state takeover. \"Why do you have to negotiate with anyone?\" she asked. \"It would be in the best interest of the district to come to an agreement and work together,\" Kimbrell said. \"This pathway is in the best interest of the kids and the school . district.\" Curtaicl harters, LR schoolsu rge District tells U.S. court that state vi9lateds ettlementm, akei t pay CYNTHIA HOWELL ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE The state should be stopped from opening or expanding charter schools and forced to pay Pulaski Coun- . ty's three school districts for di~trict students who moved to the independently run charter schools, attorneys for the Little Rock School District and black students known as the Joshua intervenors said Tuesday. In a motion submitted to U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr., the attorneys argued that the state - including the Arkansas Department of Education and the state Board of Education - have violated in multiple'ways a 1989 settlement agreement in the long-running Pulaski County school desegregation lawsuit. , Chris Heller and Clay Fendley, attorneys for the Little Rock district and Rep. John Walker and Robert Pressman for the Joshua intervenors contend that the violations include state retaliation against the three Pulaski County districts because of the settlement. Those retaliatory acts inSee CHARTERPSa,g e 7A Charters  Continued from Page 1 A elude limiting payments for school bus transportation in the districts, subjecting the three districts.to special fmancial audits and failing to reimburse the Little Rock district for legal fees incurred in the district's successful attainment of unitary status in 2007. \"The State's admissions and other undisputed evidence show significant and continuing State violations of the 1989 Settlement Agreement,\" the attorneys wrote. \"None of the facts necessary for the Court to rule in fa\\! Or of LRSD and Joshua are in dispute. LRSD should be granted summary judgment,\" the attorneys said in the filing that totaled more than 1,000 pages, including depositions and reports. Summary judgment is a court order in which a judge decides that there are no disagreements about the facts in a case and that a judge can make a decision without a trial or court hearing. Tuesday's motion comes in the aftermath of the Little Rock School District's May 2010 motion to enforce the settlement agreement in regard to the state-approved establishment of independently run charter schools\"in Pulaski County. The district has argued that the charter scho9ls - of which there are 12 - were approved witho'ut considering the ef fect the schools would have on,magnet schools and the majority-to-minority student transfer program in the three districts.  Those interdistrict student transfer programs are part of the 1989 settlement agreement and are an effort to promote racial desegregation in the three districts.  Attorneys said in Tuesday's filings that 331 Little Rock students moved directly froln magnet schools td, char- More information Schoodl istricttsa keovear nd desegregation arkansasonline.com/dese' gdoc/ ter schools between 2005-06 and 2010-ll, and 20 more Little Rock district students moved from the majority-to-minority student transfer program to charter schools. In August, Marshall directed the district and the Joshua intervenors - who contend that the state failed to meet its obligations to work to improve the achievement of black students in the three districts - to file a joint statement of facts in the case this month. The state, repr:esented by Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office, and the Pulaski County open-enrollment charter schools, have been directed by the court to file their own statement of facts by March 12. Marshall has set a March 29 hearing to decide what steps to take next. Representatives of the attorney general's office and the charter school intervenors said late Tuesday that they had just received the motion for summary judgment and accompanying documents and had not had time to review them. \"I will ... respond in court according to the time frame established. by Judge Marshall,'' said Jess Askew III, an attorney for the charter schools. The Little Rock district and Joshua intervenors told Marshall that state officials had approved charter schools without court approval\nhad failed to identify or develop programs to remediate achievement disparities between black and white students\nand had \"abandoned\" its responsibility to monitor desegregation and remedia-tion efforts in the district. The attorneys wrote that state officials limited the amount of ai:'d for state school-bus tr'ansportation to the three school districts in - such a way that the districts are reimbursed at a lesser percentage than the state average, a violation of the settlement agreement. They also said that the attorney general and \"other state actors\" including University of Arkansas departments in Fayetteville and \"private persons and entities have engaged in an orchestrated public relations campaign designed to discredit desegregation efforts in Pulaski County generally and LRSD specifically that has created something lik~ the 'hysterical political atmosphere' surrounding desegregation reminiscent of the 1960s.\" The 1960s reference is from a 1985 court decision in the case. The attorneys asked that the state Board of Education be enjoined from approving any new open-enrollment charter schools or increasing the size of the schools unless court approval is granted to do so. The state also should be directed to retroactively pay the three Pulaski Coupty school districts the .state aid the districts would have re-ceived had charter school students participated in the majority-to-minority student transfer program, the attor-neys said.  Additionally, they said, the Arl\u0026lt;aJ1saDs epartment of Education should be directed to identify programs, policies or procedures designed to remediate the racial achievement disparity that exists between black and white students in Pulaski County district schools. The state agency should further be directed to develop a .revised plan for monitoring the remediation of that disparity, the. attorneys said. The attorneys also asked that the state be prevented from enforc\ning a state law that authorized.\"forensic\" audits of the three districts and that the state be precluded from consolidating, annexing or reconstituting the three Pulaski County districts unless authorized by the federal court. The potential for such consolidation exists because both the North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special districts have been placed in the state's fiscal distress program and must correct financial problems identified by the state within l years or forced by the state to merge with one or more other districts. Lawmakersu rgep ush to end desegregatiocna se ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE I Two state lawmakers have proposed a resolution for the Arkansas House of Representatives and Arkansas Senate to offer their \"full support\" for ~he governor and attorney general to take \"every lawful and responsible action\" within their authority to seek and litigate for a court order bringing an immediate end to the Pulaski County school desegregation case and the settlement agreement involving the state. State Sen. Gilbert Baker, RConway, and Rep. Tim Summers, R-Bentonville, filed a resolution for the Legislature to consider in the fiscal session. Since the 1988-89 school year, the state has paid more than $1 billion in total and about $70 million a year in desegregarion funding to the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special school districts, according to the resolution. Baker said he proposed it to show that Gov. Mike Beebe and Attorney General Dustin McDaniel \"have the support of the Legislature behind , them as they move forward\" trying to settle the case. \"There is a pretty strong view across Arkansas that it is time to deal with that case,\" Baker said. As a result of the order from a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis, desegregation efforts by the Pulaski County Special district will continue to be monitored by the federal courts for the foreseeable future.  The Little Rock and North Little Rock districts have been released from court supervision in the 29-year-old lawsuit. All three districts, however, remain parties in the lawsuit and receive about $70 million a year in state desegregation aid that other districts in the state do not get. ARKANSADS EMOCRAT-GAZE'ITE a-periocdl assd ay focuso fs essions The Little Rock School District is hosting a series of informational meetings this month for parents of upper-elementary and middle-school pupils regarding a proposal to establish an eight-period class day in the district's seven middle schools. The change would begin in the 2012-13s chool year. Most of the middle schools currently operate on a college- style block schedule in which students alternate between four 90-minute classes one day and four 90-minute classes in other subjects the next day. The revised schedule would be made up of eight 44-minute classes every day. The district has arranged the schedule so that district officials can meet with parents from up to two schools at a time. On Monday, a session will be held at Forest Heights Middle School for parents of pupils who attend or will attend Forest Heights or Pulaski Heights middle schools. The session will be from 5:30 to7 p.m. A second session is planned for 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Dunbar Middle School for the parents of current or future pupils at Dunbar and Horace Mann Magnet middle schools. A final session is planned from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. Feb. 27 at Henderson Middle School for the parents of current and future Henderson pupils. Current middle-school parents and parents of children in third, fourth and fifth grades are encouraged to attend the meeting at their closest neighborhood school. School Board members will attend the sessions. A session was held Thursday for parents of Cloverdale and Mabelvale middle-school pupils. Educationno tebook Thea competition winnerrse vealed The Thea Foundation has announced the winners of its 2012 Visual Arts Scholarship Competition for high school seniors and its Visual Arts Competition for high school juniors. to Anna Britton, Harding Academy\nAmber Ivey, Cabot High\nMykel Rodriguez, Conway High\nAshley Swindle, Jonesboro High\nMadison Teague, Harding Academy\nHeather Watson, Jacksonville High\nand Kathryn Wells, Bauxite High. The junior winners each received $100. They were: Jacob Schlag, North Little Rock High\nand Ashley Trieschmann, Hot Springs High. The artwork of the winning students will be on display in the Thea Foundation gallery through March 23 at 401 Main St. in North Little Rock. A total of 160 high school seniors competed for a combined total of $25,000 in scholarships. A total of 64 high school juniors competed for a total of $1,000 in cash prizes. The artworks of any medium were based on the theme, \"Happy Remembrances of the Holiday Season,\" taken from Thea Kay Leopoulos' journal entry titled \"Christmas.\" The winning seniors were Tulsi Patel, Morrilton High, first place, $4,000\nValeria Chavez, El Dorado High, second place, $3,500\nMichaela Osborne, Bentonville High, third place, $3,000\nDerek Schultz, North Little Rock High, fourth place, $2,500\nAustin Benson, Morrilton High, fifth place, $2,000\nKatie Connelly, El Dorado High, sixth place, $2,000\nCole Harken, Morrilton High, seventh place, $2,000\nDarren Waddles, Mountain View High, eighth place, $2,000\nHaley Martin, Lake Hamilton High, ninth place, $2,000\nEun Ha, Little Rock Central High, 10th place, $2,000. t:Honorable mentid'\\s went Districtosf fered Emmanuelle Esters, North transitioninhge lp Little Rock High, first place\nJamie Freeman, Cabot High, The Arkansas Public second place\nChris Graham, School Resource Center is ofBen ton High, third place\nfering its member school disSergio Garcia, North Little tricts assistance in transitionRock High, fourth place\ning from Arkansas education Rebecca Richmond, North standards to the new 1ComLittle Rock High, fifth place\nmon Core State Standards in Holly Roomsburg, El Dorado math and English/language High, sixth place\nMacKenzie arts. Thompson, Little Rock Cen- The pilot initiative, Achievtral High, seventh place\nAn- ing by Changing, is funded gela Eichhorn, Harding Acad- with a grant from the Wale my, eighth place\nMorgan ton Family Foundation and Thompson, Paris High, ninth through fees paid bv the 26 place\nand Rebekah Cooley, schools that were selected to Paris High, 10th place. try the program. Additional Honorable mentions went schools will be added in the t~ Mic_helle ~allantine, F_lip- fall for the program, which is pm ~1gh\n:r1ffa1\n1yC ollm~, designed to provide teachers Sheridan High\nDianna Godi- , with research-based stratenez, North Little Rock Higi_: I gies for teaching from the new and more rigorous standards. The Achieving by Changing program is being carried out through the use of regional hubs. Each hub is matched with an Achieving by Changing coach who will teach the strategies, provide on-site support and monitor each school's progress. Keepingey eso nt he ball ,_,,\n.~~~,/i!\u0026gt;~~r .- ~\n,..,.,,.,\n1,\n,,.,. . ' \nA...,\ns~sOem~rat-07G,\nj\nAigiGK'.r.,cF.A:Al!ANO w,~~~-~\"\"-:\n-.r~\n. ,,, ... 1  t!\n:-1  ~.......... - _ .~ Geese' Ausl?je\nthe Harlem Globetrotters star, shows o~ his skills Wednesday for fifth-graders, including Syqney Kellam (l~ft) and Audrey Hall, at Williams Magnet Elementary in Little Rock. Talksb etweend_i strictu, nionss hort,n ot so sweet CYNTHIA HOWELL  ARKANSDAESM OCRAT-GAZETTE Contract negotiations between leaders of the Pulaski County Special School District and its two employee unions ended Wednesday almost as soon as they began, leaving unanswered the question of how the district will cut $13.6 million from its 2012-13b udget. the Pulaski Association of employee salaries and insurClassroom Teachers, said the ance benefits for next year district's contract negotiating before discussing potential team \"walke'd out\" of the con- budget cuts. district since July, declined could resume,although nothWednesday to talk specifi- ing is scheduled. cally about the.brief negotia- \"I don't know what is gotions session, citing terms in,_ ing to happen next,\" Guess the district's contract with said. 'Tm trying to act very teachers prohibiting the dis- responsibly and very carecussion with media_ of con- ftilly to make sure that whattract proposals or the status ever steps we take next. are of bargaining before an,im- defensible, appropriate and tract talks within a half-hour \"We gave a proposal that of their start. addresses the budget by not The district's team left, Nix increasing it\n'' Nix said. \"Jney said, after she and representa- refused to sign it unless we tives of the Pulas_ki Associa- 1 agreed to open the entire tion of Support Staff repeated contract. That's not going to the assertions that they made happen.\" passe is declared. made with integrity.\" Guess said neither side de- Guess and Bill Goff, chief Marty Nix, president of in earlier letters that agree- Jerry Guess, superintenments had to be reached on dent 'of the 17,000-student dared an impasse Wednes- financial officei: in the district day, meaning the negotiatioru\nSee TALKSP,a ge 9A Talks  Continued from Page 1 A - which is operating under state control and without an elected school board - told the Arkansas Board of Education on Feb.13 that the district needed to cut $13.6 million in the coming year to balance the district's $170 million budget. The district leaders told the Education Board that they had already identified about $6.6 million in cuts, including the elimination of some 77 jobs through attrition or layoffs, but needed contract concessions from employee groups to save another $7 million. \u0026lt;\noff said there is about $14 million in benefits and costs in the teachers' contract and abo4t $1.4 million in the sup-port staff contract in excess of what is ,,, required by state law for school district employees. Some of those additional benefits include a 192- Goff day work year for teachers as opposed to 190 days required by law, pay for lunch and bus duty, and a $272.80 monthly contribution per employee for health insurance as compared with the $131 required by law. Guess told state officials that failure to convince the unions of the district's financial problems and to resolve the problems would be \"fatal\" to the district's continued existence. He also said he had a plan for \"unilateral implementation of the district's last, best and final offer to the union\" that he was prepared to carry out if the negotiations are not successful. The employee associations Wednesday proposed to the district's negotiating team :, that there be no acrossthe- board pay raises and no increase in employee health insurance payments for the . coming school Nix year, Nix said. The district's team refused to accept that proposal without an agreement from the employees to reopen their entire contracts that are otherwise due to expire in 2015. The employee groups refused to reopen the entire agreements. \"We'll address a lot of the budget concerns, but we are not going to agree to open the contract to do it,\" Nix said, adding that most of the terms in the 172-page teacher contract don't deal with monetary issues. \"I've said it everywhere: We will address their budget concerns once [a revised] contract is implemented,\" Nix said. Any employee concessions or exceptions to the terms of the contract produced in the budget talks could be enacted through a signed \"memorandum of understanding\" between the employee groups and the district, she said. Such memoranda have been used routinely, she said, the most recent one dealing with a change for next year in class scheduling at some of the secondary schools. Guess said he has told the union leaders that \"We have to be able to discuss all of the negotiated agreement.\" That's necessary, he said, if the district is to ensure that students are well-served academically next year and if the budget changes are going to be softened for as many employees as possible. Nix and Emry Chesterfield, president of the Pulaski As_sociation of Support Staff, said Wednesday afternoon that they were uncertain what would happen next but that their organizations were willing to continue talks with the district leaders. ''.Anytime, anyplace,\" Chesterfield said. He said the district's use of two outside attorneys and a c!onsultant on its negotiating team at a time when the district is in financial trouble was objectionable. The attorneys earn $175 to $20d an hour. Guess responded in a separate interview, \"My imperative is to do this well. I want all of the advice I can get. \"I think this is a very, very complicated process, and I think experienced people should be consulted to be sure that the course we pursue is the right course and pursued the right way.\" Attorneys Allan Roberts qf Camden,the district's chief negptiator, and Jay Bequette of the Bequette \u0026amp; Billingsley law firm in Little Rock, participated in Wednesday's negotiations .. Don Stewart, a former assistant superintendenffor business in the district, was the consultant. He has been assisting the district with financial matters since shortly after the state Department of Education took o.ver the Pulaski County Special district in June because of financial mismanagement issues. The state takeover occurred after the state Education Board classified the district as being in fiscal distress in March 2011. As a result, the district has up to two years to correct the financial issues, which include mismanagement and spending more than it is receiving, before the state board is compelled to take action against it. That could be mej-ging the di_stricJt o_p ne or more other school districts. Besides Stewart and the attorneys, others on the district's negotiating team are: Guess\nGoff\nPaul Brewer, chi~f executive officer/executive director of human resources\nand Linda Remele, deputy superintendent ()f elementary education/chief academic officer. Representatives for the employees include Nix\nChesterfield\nSandra Roy, executive director for both unions\nand chief nego'tii!tors .Deen . Minton for the teachers and Don Clevenger for the sup~ port staff. Letters exchanged between the district and associations set the stage for the dispute Wednesday. The teacher association sent letters last week that proposed Wednesday's meeting, citing Article XVII of the teachers' contract that says the district and teachers agree to annually open negotiations on the salary and insurance provisions. Guess responded with a letter giving the association notice that the district was seeking modification to the  entire conGuess tract under the modification provision, Article I, Section 5. \"The administration  proposes modification of the entire agreement in order to comply with the Arkansas Department of Education fiscal distress 'removal mandate,\" Guess wrote. \"That mandate is that the district negotiate ~Ith PACT changes ln the certified employee compensation package1 set forth in the PACT agree~ ment that will result in substantial economic savings.''. Guess acknowledged in his letter that the contract negotiations \"are going to be regressive.\" - . . The -union -leader,s. wrote Guess,fate Wednesday__: after the meeting - stating that they were \"extremely disappointed\" with the district team leaving the talks.  \"Your chief negotiator gave us a 'take it or leave it' ultimatum. Dr. Guess, we will not be bullied in this process,\" Nix and Chesterfield wrote. The two said the district's refusal to accept union offers that deal with the highest cost items in any district budget in the midst of a budget crisis are \"unconscionable.\" The district has about 2,800 employees. 2 schoolu nions declareim passe in contractta lks PulaskiC ountyd istrict'iss sues now on mediationfa st track CYNTI:!IA HOWELL ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE The teacher and support staff unions in the Pulaski County Special School District declared an impasse Friday in the 2012-13c ontract negotiations with district officials. The unions have scheduled federal and state mediators to work with bargaining teams on Tuesday. The declaration of an impasse is the latest development in efforts by the state's third-largest district ofl7,000 students to cut $13.6 million in expenses from its 2012-13 budget. District leaders have said they need employee concessions to balance the budget of about $170 million. Union leaders have said they want to lock in salary and insurance terms for next year at this year's rates before working with district officials on any additional budget matters. \"We believe that media-tion is the most expeditious way to resolve the issues before us,\" Marty Nix, president of the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers, and Emry Chesterfield, president of the Pulaski Association of Support Staff, wrote Friday to school district Superintendent Jerry Guess in a letter declaring the impasse in contract talks. Guess quickly responded with his own letter: \"I welcome your decision, and we will be agreeable to return to the table.\" . However, Guess added that the district's negotiating team was not consulted about mediation or the date. \"I am unable to confirm all team members for Tuesday and would agree to a meeting on Thursday,\" the superintendent wrote. In the third letter of the day, Nix and Chesterfield held fast to the Tuesday date. \"We understand if all of See PCSSDP,a ge3 A PCSSD  Continued from Page 1 A your team is not able to attend. As you know we have met with you in negotiations when not all of our team was in attendance,\" Nix and Chesterfield wrote. \"The urgency of resolving our differences is of paramount importance\ntherefore we look forward to seeing you on February 28.\" Guess said in an interview that he wants the parties to meet, but he doesn't plan to do it on Tuesday. \"I don't think I can get all of my folks ready for Tuesday,\" he said. \"I will sit down with the leadership of PACT and PASS and we will contact those mediators together and we will find a time when we can all meet. Or, if they don't want to be in the room when I contact them, I'll contact them by mysel I want to work together. I don't know how I can try any harder. \"I didn't know about the impasse,\" he said. \"I didn't know that they had contacted mediators. I didn't know that a meeting was being planned. So, I'm going to have to do the best I can to find a ytay to get us all together.\" The impasse declaration Friday comes in the aftermath of the first and only recent bargaining session that took place Wednesday between the district and the two employee unions. It lasted no more than 30 minutes. The district's negotiating team left the talks when representatives of the employee associations insisted on settling salary and insurance provisions before dealing with the district's call to cut $13.6 million in expenses to balance the 2012-13b udget. The employee associations on Wednesday had proposed locking in the salaries and the district's contributions to employee health-insurance coverage at this year's rates, meaning no across-the-board raises for employees - although step increases for experience presumably would be paid to employees eligible for them. Guess and Chief Financial Officer Bill Goff told the Arkansas Board of Education on Feb.13 that the Pulaski County Special district - which is operating under state control and without an elected school board - had identified nearly $6.7 million in expenses to be cut. Those cuts will include the elimination of 77 jobs through attrition and layoffs, but district leaders said they need concessions from employees to cut an additional $7 million. Goff has said the teachers' existing contract - due to expire in 2015 - provides teachers with about $14 million and support staff with $1.4 million in benefits over and above what is required by state law. For teachers, those extra benefits include a 192-day work year as opposed to a 190-day year that is required by law. Additionally, the district contributes $272.80 a month for employee health insurance versus the $131 a month required by the state. The district also pays teachers for noninstructional duties such as recess and.bus supervision, whereas state law says teachers can do up to an hour of duty a week without additional pay. Nix on Friday, in an interview, said that declaring an impasse was the fastest way to resolving the issues. \"We are going to address the financial needs that they presented to the state Board of Education on Feb. 13,\" she said, reiterating her position from Wednesday. \"But we are not going to give up all of our contract, all of the agreements that we have in there, which it seems like the superintendent wants us to do.\" Nix said it is the associations' intent to address with district leaders all of the potential areas for cost-cutting that Goff listed as being extra in the employee contracts. \"We definitely want to,\" she said, but she added that the associations want to deal with the salaries and insurance issues first. Those two issues are specifically identified in the teacher contract as being subject to annual negotiations. Other parts.of the contract can be opened if there is mutual agreement of the bargaining teams. Nix has suggested that any changes in employee benefits and working conditions made necessary by the _budget problems could be handled through memoranda ofunderstanding. More than half of the district's teachers and support staff mustbe members of their respective associations for the associatio~s to i\nepresent them in contract.talks. Usually, employees pay for their union dues through payroll deductions. District officials reported Friday that there are 1,327 teachers, of whom more than half - 794 - pay dues to the teachers' union through pay-roll deductions.  A total of 423 support staff employees pay dues through payroll deduction to the Pulaski Association of Support Staff, which is slightly less than half of the 851 employees who are eligible to join the association. It couldn't be immediately determined Friday night whether enough J support staff employees are paying dues out of pocket to get the membership number over 50 percent The teachers' contract includes an impasse resolution section. When eitherparty declares an impasse on any unresolved item, both parties agree to contact the Federal Mediation Conciliation Service to request the agency's services. Mediation will commence within five days after a metliator  is appointed or at the earliest convenience of the mediator. A mediator typically goes back and forth between the teams to work out differences. Either team can declare a second impasse, at which time the issues go to a factfinder. The fact-finder listens to what the teams say are their final, best offers and_p repares a written nonbinding opinion on how the matter should be resolved. If no agreement is reached between the parties after factfinding, either team can ask for an impasse hearing before the school board, according to the teachers' contract. Since the Pulaski County Special district was taken over by the state last.June because of financial mismanagement, Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell will serve as the district's school board.  School'districdt elays bargainingm eeting. ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE \"We have contacted the Representatives of the Pu- mediators and look 1for,ward  laski County Special School to seeking you on Thursday,\"  District and the district's teach- Marty Nix, president of the er and support-staff unions teachers' organization, and will meet, with state and ,fed- Emry Chesterfield, president eral mediators Thursday ih a of the support staff association, renewed effort to reach 'agree- wrote to Guess on Monday. : merits aifectmg' employee con- \"We are very hopeful that we tr.ad.s_ andt he school district's can reach a resolution to the . bu~get i 2012-13. } . issues befor~ us, they adde\\i. The mediation session will The unions had declared an be.~in at 10:30 a,Jll, at the Ar-  impasse Friday after a 30~rninkansas Education Association ute J:?argain:ing_sessi\u0026lt;:\u0026gt;nWednesheadquarte~ s. .  . day between the district and \\  The mediation session\nwas the two employee' unions. initjalslcyh eduled for tod~yb ut  ..T ji.e district's neg\u0026lt;\nltiating Pu:faski\nCountyS pecial-School team left the talks when rep)? J'l:rict'S 1\n1perihtend~nJte rry. resenti)t_iveso f the' .employee Guess tpld the Pulaski.As.sq- associations -insisted 6ri setciation of Classroom Te~chers  tling salary an,~ irisun~nce an~it:h e Pulaski Assqc:iatiorio f. provisions,petor~ dealing with ~ilP,poi\nSt taffl ast weel\u0026lt;,t):iatJlis' the 'distriGt'.s crutio ,c ut $l3.6 teamcou ld hot be ready'(o~tfue.: ,.i:nillion~ xpe~~sto balance essiim today.   ( ' j .... './ ,th~f~g-~ budg~t\n'  .''\nH~ sl\\'ggested ~ ..: :rJiuri.djY : ,., /. ~~~.,S1\\$a.rid .~!iif Fihan~fal me.et~g to the ~o~Je?.4.~p  (2f1f,e,1r ?j}Glo\nf -told t~e !}randr~ so, contacteii one,?tIB.f ,,'. kl\\Il5as1 Boar19f ~duf_at1on',on mediatqrs over the weekend.td i ,'.E ebh'l.t3h:a t th,e-.P.hlasletio unty seek/~hange ih the time... _.. ,:$Iii~fat'district ..!...'\nwh1c.his  Le,i!-\\le~of~ ~- e nr9,,$qipl\u0026lt;:\u0026gt;y-ope\na~ii:g un,der state coiiy!1Pl ee .group_ps ut1allyJ11S1steodn and witl\\,o\\.W,iiellle cted sclfool a sessio~ today, but they wrote board - had 'identified l'leiirly tq. Guess \u0026lt;\n\u0026gt;Mn o_nday\n~ aying $6.7 mi!Jion irJ~. jcpenses:too e th\u0026lt;!,t\" git he spirit'6f collabora- ct.' :' \n ,. \":, tiont',th.~-associaij~p.s woi!ld  H owever\ndistric,t .lea,4e'rs mee't ~ith the distric,t. team $aid'th.ey_ neeq cop.ce~!l.i'l\nJ.ns ~cj !Ilediators ,cm the .i{terna- from egipl~yeei to.ht ari:ail.- tiye date.    ., :',, ' , . , - diJJonal' $7 ~qn.     . 4B  WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2012  Uniformeeds cort Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIKNR AIN Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps student James Sudeen waits in the hallway at Parkview Magnet High School to escort the Little Rock school superintendent and other administrators during a tour of career-technical education classes in the district's high schools Tuesday. Arkansas Democrat ~(f,azette Gettingth e point Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIKNR AIN Tyler Robinson gets a finger stuck Tuesday by University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences nursing student Kathryn Dawson during an optional screening at a health fair for students at Parkview Magnet High School in the Little Rock School District. Sessionsm ediated, but no deal struck 'EVIEBLAD ARKANSASD EMOCRAT-GAZETTE The leaders of the Pulaski County Special School District and its employee unions were unable to reach an agreement Thursday after three hours of mediated . discussions about proposed changes designed to help the district trim $7 million from its 2012-13b udget. Staff, which represents em_ ployees ~ the 17,000-student district, met in one room of the Arkansas Education Association headquarters Thursday, discussing proposals with a state and fedt! ral mediator, who met with Guess and an attorney in a separate .room. District, The groups plan to continue~ alks at io,:'30 a.m .. Monday at the district's administration building.  Union leaders and stateappointed Superintendent JE\nrrY Guess described Thursday's talks as \"positive,\" but they wou-ld not discuss the specifics of the negotiations. Union leaders have said they want to lock in salary and insurance terms for next year at this year's rates before considering any other budget matters. Those issues weren't settled Thursday, Nix said. _She would not say if the ~ons held the same position on the matter. .. umons Guess wouldn't speculate about whether another' day of negotiations would yield an agreement among the groups. in talks 3 hours \"We're all going to do the right thing, and I think the presence of mediators have brought us closer to that,\" said Marty Nix, president of the Pulaski Association of Class.room Teachers, the teachers' unibn. \"I think this has been a good day, and we've been talking about important issues,\" he said Thursday. \"But there have been no p_i:oposals and no d,ecisions.\" Nix and Emry Chest~rfield, president of the Pulaski Association of Support The mediators - contracted through the Federal Mediation Conciliation ~aIk s _ its financial situation through I , a state-approved plan within two years, Arkansas law al- .  Continued from Page 1 B lows the state to take further Service - determined when actions - including merging to break for the day, Guess it wi\nThis project was supported in part by a Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives project grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Council on Library and Information Resoources.\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\u003cdcterms_creator\u003eArkansas. Department of Education\u003c/dcterms_creator\u003e\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n \n\n  \n\n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n \n\n\n   \n\n  \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n   \n\n \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n   \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n "},{"id":"bcas_bcmss0837_1862","title":"Multiple court filings: Amended notice of hearing on motion in Little Rock School District (LRSD) v. 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