Proposal Would Consolidate School Districts Based on County Lines
By: Emily Baucum, KOLR / KSFX
Updated: March 11, 2011
Arkansas lawmakers are looking at the state map and thinking outside the lines.
State Senator Ruth Whitaker (R-Cedarville) suggests taking the 244 districts and consolidating them to 75 countywide districts -- and it has people talking.
Kathleen Remenar says she was born to be a teacher.
"You watch them grow up. They all grow up and they come back and see you. Behind me are 34 years of successful students."
Some of the students pictured on her wall are now old enough to have kids of their own, who are sitting in her Eureka Springs High School classroom.
"It's the essence of Eureka," says Remenar. "All the kids do come through here."
It's that community Superintendent Wayne Carr fears would be lost if Arkansas moved to countywide districts.
"What that means is, there are 75 counties in Arkansas so we would have 75 school districts along the same boundaries as counties," he says.
Each with only one school board and one superintendent.
"Really what I see is adding another layer of administration -- another layer of bureaucracy -- between the local schools and ADE in Little Rock," adds Carr.
Supporters believe consolidating administrations would save money.
"Purchasing and everything else, it seems that's where you'd be saving the money," says Remenar.
Opponents question how easy it would be for parents and educators to make decisions in their hallways.
"There's a difference in culture," says Carr. "There's a difference in views between one school district and another. I think the bigger the organization, the harder that is to control. I think we really need that local control."
"You'd have to have a strong representation of each of the elements coming into that," says Remenar. "If you had fair representation on the board itself, you might get fair representation."
Remenar has some questions she'd like answered before Arkansas redraws her district.
"I want to know what the details are. The devil's always in the details."
It's a life lesson she's taught generations of students.
The bill's making its way through the Arkansas legislature; it's been proposed before when the economy was struggling.
If the bill passes it would have little effect on the schools themselves. Only the administrations would be consolidated -- not actual school buildings.
State Senator Ruth Whitaker (R-Cedarville) suggests taking the 244 districts and consolidating them to 75 countywide districts -- and it has people talking.
Kathleen Remenar says she was born to be a teacher.
"You watch them grow up. They all grow up and they come back and see you. Behind me are 34 years of successful students."
Some of the students pictured on her wall are now old enough to have kids of their own, who are sitting in her Eureka Springs High School classroom.
"It's the essence of Eureka," says Remenar. "All the kids do come through here."
It's that community Superintendent Wayne Carr fears would be lost if Arkansas moved to countywide districts.
"What that means is, there are 75 counties in Arkansas so we would have 75 school districts along the same boundaries as counties," he says.
Each with only one school board and one superintendent.
"Really what I see is adding another layer of administration -- another layer of bureaucracy -- between the local schools and ADE in Little Rock," adds Carr.
Supporters believe consolidating administrations would save money.
"Purchasing and everything else, it seems that's where you'd be saving the money," says Remenar.
Opponents question how easy it would be for parents and educators to make decisions in their hallways.
"There's a difference in culture," says Carr. "There's a difference in views between one school district and another. I think the bigger the organization, the harder that is to control. I think we really need that local control."
"You'd have to have a strong representation of each of the elements coming into that," says Remenar. "If you had fair representation on the board itself, you might get fair representation."
Remenar has some questions she'd like answered before Arkansas redraws her district."I want to know what the details are. The devil's always in the details."
It's a life lesson she's taught generations of students.
The bill's making its way through the Arkansas legislature; it's been proposed before when the economy was struggling.
If the bill passes it would have little effect on the schools themselves. Only the administrations would be consolidated -- not actual school buildings.
