Should Some School Districts Be Exempt From Consolidation?

The House Education Committee says Arkansas should exempt 27 school districts from possible consolidation be declaring them so isolated they would NOT benefit from merging with nearby districts. Schools would be exempt if their new school is more than 12 miles from their old school. The bill was sponsored by Representative Travis Boyd. It now goes to the full House for consideration. ----- This list shows the districts ranked by enrollment. The table shows district name, number of students, state and local spending per student, whether the district offers a full curriculum, whether it meets a 15-page set of Department of Education accreditation standards, the score from 11th grade literacy scores and the salary of its superintendent. The average spending from state and local sources is $5,867. Only four of the districts on this list spend less than that. In the "Core" column, districts that do not offer Arkansas history are not included because districts have the option of offering the course in junior high. In the "Lit" column, results are from the only statewide exam given to students at the same point in their high school years. Students taking algebra and geometry are tested at the end of their course work, which can vary from the ninth to 12th grades. Enrollment and spending figures are from the 2001-2002 school year; curricula reports, accreditation status and literacy scores are from the 2002-2003 school year.