Two School Districts Taken Over By State
posted by: Alix | June 21, 2011, 04:37 PM   


On Monday, two Arkansas school districts— Helena-West School District and Pulaski County Special School District – were brought under state control. Officials cite financial distress, which was a result of declining budgets, decreasing end- of-year funds, and improperly documented overtime hours and purchases, as the reason for the takeovers.


In Pulaski County, a series of investigative reports by the Division of Legislative Audit began in April 2010. The audit found numerous irregularities – including the failing of the district's leadership and board to follow its own policies. In June 2010, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) sent a letter to the district identifying the audit findings as "extremely serious." A year later, with improvements still anticipated, the ADE finally took over, firing Charles Hopson, and appointing well-respected, former Pulaski superintendent Bobby Lester and Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell. "The district needs to set the tone from the top," said Kimbrell. "There needs to be change in the environment at the district and that starts with school leadership. The district has exhibited a lack of basic financial accountability. To create an atmosphere for children to be successful academically, a change in administration has to be made."

Similarly, the take-over of the Helena-West School District occurred because of a constant state of financial turmoil since September 2010. While the school came under state provision in 2005, it was returned control in 2008. As end-of-year balances fell steadily, from $4.6 million in 2007 – 2008, to $1.8 million in 2009 – 2010, it became clear that the county lacked financial control. "I think they pulled out too soon," said Rayne Gordon, a member of the district's board of directors since 1994. "They turned it back over to local politics soon." Director of the Great Rivers Education Service Cooperative and former teacher, Suzanne Mc Common will be Helena-West's new CEO. Mc Common said that she is firmly committed to engaging the entire community in a comprehensive school turnaround effort. Ulicious Reed, the former superintendent in Marvell, Arkanasa, will aid Mc Common as chief operations officer. Details about future improvements are expected later in the summer.

Clearly with many districts facing budget constraints, not all have to be taken over by the state.

Do you think financial mismanagement contributed to the takeovers?
Comment below.

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